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“H.R. 1406 would amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to provide compensatory time for employees in the private sector. In lieu of overtime pay, employees could receive compensatory time off at a rate not less than one and one-half hours for each hour of employment for which overtime pay would otherwise have been required. Such compensatory time could be provided only in accordance with a collective bargaining agreement or with the consent of affected employees. The changes would be effective for five years after enactment of the bill.”

Mrs. Roby’s act, H.R. 1406, would be, according to the CBO report, “revenue neutral.” In other words, it would NOT affect the cost or performance of the federal government, or of state or local governments, nor would it impose any costs upon them. In fact, the report states:

“Enacting H.R. 1406 would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. Implementing the bill also would not affect spending subject to appropriation. H.R. 1406 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments.”

This is a blatant effort to eliminate employees legal rights and protections.

In my opinion, Mrs. Roby and the exceeding majority of her GOP cohorts are radicals who are Hell-bent upon destroying every hard-gained law that protects American employees from abuses by their employers. It wouldn’t surprise me to continue to see efforts to whittle away at Labor Laws, including those forbidding Child Labor. This is such a shocking development that I am incensed beyond imagination. It would not surprise me in the least to continue seeing such efforts by Republicans to chip away at Employees Rights, up to and including prohibitions on Child Labor.

Ideologically, of course, the action proposed by this bill is in keeping with the radicalized wing of the GOP, which has been hijacked and co-opted by the TEA Party movement, which is nothing more than a thinly disguised Libertarian in Republican’s clothes. Those are the types who also align themselves with the Utopian, ivory-towered, theoretical visions of the Mises Institute, which is headquartered in Auburn, Alabama. For those who may not be aware, the Mises Institute teaches that government should not exist, but that instead of government, free enterprise should rule mankind. Their theoretical vision for “free markets” cannot work, because it supposes a perfect world.

Concerning H.R. 1406 introduced by Mrs. Roby, it is also a hypocritical bill, because “compensatory time could be provided only in accordance with a collective bargaining agreement or with the consent of affected employees,”and as is well known, Republicans are at increasing odds with Labor Unions and Organized Labor, and continue seeking to enact laws that strip away protections granted by collective bargaining agreements, which themselves are virtually non-existent in so-called “Right to Work” states, which in large part are in the Southeast. The term itself – Right to Work – is a misnomer, because in those states, an employee has NO RIGHT to work, and can be fired for any reason. Your hair is curly? You’re fired. Your eyes are blue? You’re fired. The “Right to Work” states are also called “Employment At Will” states, which is an attempt at “rebranding” the issue, as if it empowers the employee, when in fact, it does not.

Philosophically, H.R. 1406 is an effort to return to the “bad old days” in which deaths in unsafe working conditions were common throughout the United States; in which Child Labor was common; in which employers did not have to pay their employees any wages, and often changed their rates of pay – to reduce it – without the employees’ knowledge or consent, and more.

It is, in essence, very much like the story told in the Exodus account, in which the Hebrew children suffered oppression in their labors at the hands of Pharaoh, who at last, told them that they were to “make more bricks, but could not use hay.” And surprisingly, it’s not a new message. Today, we say “Do more with less.” In that historical narrative, in return, Moses delivered a message to Pharaoh from the Almighty to “Let my people go.”

In the modern scenario, people are already not being paid enough to survive, CEO’s, BIG BUSINESS and the über-wealthy are paying lobbyists to curry favor with Congress to lower tax rates upon the very wealthy or eliminate corporate income tax, and like modern-day pirates, they hide their vast accumulated wealth in tropical island paradise tax havens such as the Antilles, Bermuda, Caymans, Seychelles and more. It’s theft by deception, pure and simple.

In turn, government oppresses the employees by making or eliminating laws that would empower or favor employees over the denizen hoards of corporate lawyers protecting their Big Business employers, and they’re made to believe they’re free, but that somehow, when the weak are made strong, it is the “liberal Democrats” and Nancy Pelosi who are behind every effort to undermine their way of life.

Martha Roby’s bill – H.R. 1406 – would render employees powerless against their employers who in turn could legally refuse to pay them for mandatory overtime. Don’t like those terms? Don’t like working here? Tough. You’re free to leave. After all, this is an “employment at will state.”

There are jobs where such “comp time” is a regular part of the compensation package, and given IN ADDITION TO overtime, regular time, and vacation time. In some, but not all, cases, if the comp time is not used in a given period – such as in a year – the time is lost, and the employee is paid for all unused time. In other scenarios, comp time may be accrued without limit. In the better scenarios where comp time is an ADDITIONAL PART of the total compensation package, comp time is paid out completely when an employee leaves the company. But not all states require that to be done.

Warm Southern Breezesaid

This is a true GOP’s assault on every working man and woman. And, if you can still vote “REPUGNANTCAN” after seeing the true colors of these GOP “PARASITES”. Then “YOU” deserve everything you are handed!!! What a crock of crap to be slung on the working class. Hey people. Still think there is no such thing as “CLASS WARFARE”? Damn sure better think again.

This is something that I, as a Republican do not stand behind. She is not my representative so I can’t respond to her or vote her out but I suspect her to get voted out. I hate to see if a Democrat gets to replace her since our State has been predominately Republican and has fought against Democratic bull, it will give us one more Democrat to swing the scales liberally.

Tony Bartsaid

Is it amazing how the authors of this bill assumed their constituents are lazy, ignorant and illiterate and would not read into the terms by titling it “working families flexibility act” as if it was beneficial to working families from the very start. All you need to do is read the 1st paragraph to know the incumbent must go next election, 95% voted here on this proposal alone and it spells out political suicide for the author.

Ballssaid

I guess people are stupid. The bill is trying to allow people to earn vacation days instead of pay. You still get 1.5 hours of vacation time for every 1 hour worked over 40, so you lose nothing. One of the biggest problems in America is the lack of vacation time in the workplace, and this seeks to fix that. All of this can be negotiated through labor unions whether or not they want pay or vacation time. Stop ranting and start reading!

Sidrasaid

Maybe comp time would be great for you, but it would hurt me big time! I take care of a developmentally disabled adult who is 65 but is functionally a 12 month old baby. As a ‘baby’ she requires 24/7 care, legally. Due to high turnover, I’m constantly doing overtime to cover vacancies along with a few coworkers. My coworkers and I have a hard time using the vacation we earn now due to lack of backup. I lose vacation hours every year because I can’t take off. So instead of supplanting my very modest income with overtime pay that I can desperately use, @sshole Rethuglicon pols want to exchange money for more vacation hours I’ll never get to use and will ultimately lose!!

j jefferssaid

I just love it when the hard working people in our once great nation, try to put someone in office that is to represent them and the so-called office holder get to their new position just to have someone to slide them a few thousand dollars secretly under the table just to get them to throw the citizens to the curb and pass some idiotic bill to take care of the major industry, government entity, oh what shameful greed they will use to further depress the nation of many.

Johnsaid

Dennis Cox-Townsend- when you attack someone for having a different opinion, what does that make you ? A special kind of stupid intolerant Democrap ? We have had many years of Politicians of both Parties, we continue to circle the drain, slipping deeper each term. Why not give a Businessman a shot ? He likes to make money ! He hasn’t taken an “Special Interest” money, not any money at all ! Yet you would trust another Politician , who will say and do whatever it takes to get elected, then do just as they please once in Office ! You, doing this, wouldn’t that make you kinda stupid ? At the very least, doing the same thing over and over , yet expecting different results, is considered the very definition of INSANITY !

Hey, John. In case you haven’t met a mean Democrat, hello. I’m getting truly tired of Republicans beating the dead horse, and trodding out the same old diatribe, then when someone gets fed up with it, calls them intolerant. I think we’re pretty tolerant. We tolerate garbage from your ilk everyday.
I would like to see how high your standards are that we’re “circling the drain.” You must have an impossibly high standard fore success and prosperity.
To address your concern about politicians, just because I have an auto mechanic screw me a couple of times, I don’t go out and get my plumber to work on my car because he’s “not been involved in it” and would do different. Your logic is the flimsiest, and dumbest around. Of course, I would expect someone who believes that Orange bloviating twit to think like that.
and Tom, we need Trump like I need Ass Cancer…. if you’re so tired of the system, move to Canada, they’ll take you!
Give a businessman a shot. You make me laugh. He buys something, runs the debt on it out of control high, then declares bankruptcy to absolve himself of the responsibility of the obligations. You really think that he’ll treat the country any different.
And he hasn’t TAKEN special interest money is a very loose interpretation of reality. I suppose the NRA spending 3 million on ads for him doesn’t count, since they didn’t give the money to him first. He gets money and ad support from the RNC, who I wonder where they get their money from? He’s also admitted to bribing politicians himself. Is that not the very definition of “special interest” money?
Admit it, both to yourselves and the readers here, you’re just loyal Republican lap dogs. If the party argued that the sky was pink, you’d be out on the picket lines shouting it to the heavens, even though the evidence to the contrary is literally right over your head. That sounds more stupid to me than actually electing someone who might be remotely qualified.
What would you be spouting on here if Cruz won the nomination? I mean, you guys had, like, 18 people to choose from, and the best you could come up with is Trump? God help you.
So, please do yourself a favor, don’t call someone who disagrees with you stupid! I’m sure you wouldn’t do it face to face, you shouldn’t do it here behind anonymity! And think twice before you call me names, I promise your psyche can’t handle it, and you can’t out-cuss me! (and yes, I am an Intolerant Liberal! Deal!)
#Annoyed

Bob Decksaid

She is one stupid person. I occasionally put in 60-70 hours a week. As long as I am getting paid extra to make it worth my while, I do not mind so much. But if think I would do it for free, you are out of your freaking mind. This is not a Dem thing or a Repub thing. This is about little missy not knowing what the hell she is talking about. And you know what, the sheeple that voted for her will forget all about it when re election time rolls around.

kelvin brookssaid

Jim Wallsaid

It is your choice to take the overtime pay or the hours. You people are complaining and havent even read the bill. Probably all voted for Obama and Obama care. Try reading for a change and know the facts before you get all pissed off over nothing

It’s all in the eye of the reader; on one hand you are getting time and a half which you are being taxed so for example you make $10 and hour and you work an hour over and you get $15 so roughly $11 after taxes on the other hand as compensatory time you are getting paid $10 roughly $7.50 after taxes plus benefits while not working. How valuable is your time off?

seaotter240said

In some, but not all, cases, if the comp time is not used in a given period – such as in a year – the time is lost, and the employee is paid for all unused time. In other scenarios, comp time may be accrued without limit. In the better scenarios where comp time is an ADDITIONAL PART of the total compensation package, comp time is paid out completely when an employee leaves the company. But not all states require that to be done.
—————————————-
WOW — so if you are non union there is NO bargaining… its either accept this or goodbye.. THERE IS NO ‘CHOICE’ ….. not all workplaces have unions
LETS READ THESE KEY PARTS AGAIN……
A) the time is lost, and the employee is paid for all unused time. — (AT 1x THE HOURLY RATE NOT THE CURRENT OVERTIME 1.5 x RATE)
B) comp time is paid out completely when an employee leaves the company. But not all states require that to be done. ) ……. But not all states require that to be done.

scott hachesaid

Jaysaid

It’s a great Bill. It is pay neutral. You get 1.5 hours of paid time off instead of overtime. I would love more paid time with my family up to 1 month a year!! I only get 1 week vacation now after 2 years in a Union company.

Newssaid

Listen to the words of Representative Richard Hanna — a Republican —
“I appreciate the intent of this bill and its sponsors to provide working families more flexibility in scheduling their overtime hours worked and time off. However, as someone who has employed hundreds of workers and managed a payroll, I do not think the bill ultimately took enough concrete steps to protect workers’ rights in dealing with their employers when negotiating and executing the comp time agreements proposed by H.R. 1406.”
“I voted No on H.R. 1406, the Working Families Flexibility Act.”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

This sham legislation has been tried before … in 2003, Representative Jim Gerlach – a Republican – expressed the view of many :
“I have not heard from employers in my district that it is a big problem. The bottom line is that I just don’t see the need to do it. When you talk to our business people back in our district, their concern is with taxes, regulation and [the] increasing cost of health care. Those are the issues we ought to be working on.”
~~~~~~
What’s change since 2003 … the House Republicans have no new ideas, so they pull out the old stuff. Are businesses happy with taxes, regulations and the cost of healthcare today? So why are not the House GOP working on the budget ? The FY2014 budget is in a stalemate as Speaker Boehner has refused a House-Senate Conference Committee … so they are pulling out all stops to look busy.
It’s a sham.

Worse yet, although CBO said it would be neutral, it was amended to add government reporting requirements, which means it will cost the taxpayers.

The concept of the bill — a written agreement between the employer and employee — will end up having many employees being duped as Bosses will award OT to those employees that want Comp Time.

Warm Southern Breezesaid

Evansaid

Federal workers have had the option of taking comp time rather than overtime for years. But contrary to the information in your article, it is up to the employee. We must tell management whether we want comp or over-time, otherwise they give us overtime. It is a system that works very well, as benefits the employee much more than it does the employer. I consider myself to be an independent and progressive, and your reporting is just plain wrong. The bias leeches out of every word. In that you are no better than Fox News.

Warm Southern Breezesaid

Hi Evan. I won’t deny bias. And so, in that regard, you are correct – I am for the employee having options AND rights. As you already know and understand, part of the reason why laws exist is to prevent abuse of the weak by the powerful, and to allow fair play by the weak when competing with the powerful. It’s exactly the same reason we have a Constitutional Amendment forbidding forced quartering of troops in private residences. Thanks for your thoughts!

There is no abuse by unions you fool. Open a book and learn a bit about them. Then you can take that foot out of that overloaded “MOUTH” of yours.
God what a jerk. As Forest would say. “STUPID IS AS STUPID DOES”.

There is a difference between bias and misleading and misrepresenting. I’m as Democratic blue as anybody so please explain to me how “In lieu of overtime pay, employees could receive compensatory time off at a rate not less than one and one-half hours for each hour of employment for which overtime pay would otherwise have been required” is the same as eliminating overtime? I work as a gov’t employee and I love the fact that I can choose Compensation time or overtime at 1.5 times rate for every hour over 40hrs. If I need the money I take it but that is rarely never…… love me all the vacation time I can get.

Svensaid

To follow up on Evan’s point, this bill would actually provide MORE time off for employees, if the ELECTED to take the comp time. Typically, comp time for overtime worked is at a 1:1 ratio, while this bill would increase it to a 1.5:1 ration.

William lakesaid

“Prohibits an employer from intimidating, threatening, or coercing an employee in order to: (1) interfere with the employee’s right to request or not to request compensatory time off in lieu of payment of monetary overtime compensation, or (2) require an employee to use such compensatory time.

Makes an employer who violates such requirements liable to the affected employee in the amount of the compensation rate for each hour of compensatory time accrued, plus an additional equal amount as liquidated damages, reduced for each hour of compensatory time used.”

Where in this does it hurt the employee? Where is the employer getting the upper hand to screw with there employees?

Seansaid

This bill opens the door to screwing the employee and benefiting the employer. Sure you can ask for your time off and sure the employer has to give it to you but when you come back from your time off you have been replaced. Your job performance was not up to par.
Called, At Will Employment.

This hurts the employee because it gives the employer license to take any hours he chooses from an employees life, in an unregulated way, and eliminates the ability of said employee to earn much needed extra $Dollars. It also prohibits said empoyee from being able to regulate his or her private time to take on a seond job as may be neccessary from time to time, as the the employer now freed from budgetary constraints will now abuse the “free” otherwise overtime hours to his profit advantage, requiring certain workers to work or lose their jobs…

this is a very bad bad idea and must be defeated at all costs, becaise it is the beginning of slavery…

Enforcement. I was told years ago that when I worked on Saturday I could use comp time. Then one day a VP at a meeting said for me to be somewhere at a specific date and time. I said I had comp time and he said ..No such thing, be there. Now, try and get the Feds involved and see if you keep your job.

I wold like to see all those reps. work for minimum wages, 800 dollars per month to pay rent, food and transportation and live with that amount, now they want to stop the extra money each employee have to subsist. and yap they are going to pay vacations with that money, which is going to be part of the interest they are going to make with it.

tankguy1said

True. But the overtime rate was capped (it may not be now?) so my overtime rate was less than my normal hourly rate. For about a decade. Just before I retired OT was made equal to your hourly rate if the OT ceiling rate was lower than your hourly rate.
Comp time was available but when you had to work OT just to keep up (# employees went from 18 to 5 with no reduction in workload) when could you use the comp time? My saved leave was maxed out as I didn’t have time to take leave.
Finally. This bill requires an agreement between the employer and a union or the employee. If there is no union you get comp time as choice is take comp time or be laid off or not hired. Employer has to provide you 30 days notice when he reduces comp time received (say to 0 hours) in the bill, or you can quit. I also note it is dated 2014 so it must not have passed?

Mikesaid

Why is the government even in the business of regulating what or how an employer pays its employees. Last time I checked, I could leave my present employer anytime I like and offer my services to one who would value them more. No wonder so many jobs have left our shores.

Jennysaid

Because if they weren’t, you’d have countless ‘Scrooges’ paying pennies to hard working people, picking and choosing who they want to pay fairly and who they wanted to underpay, and women, people of color and kids would never catch a break. So yeah, until every employer on earth thinks it’s best to protect their employees more than their bottom line(will never happen) we need government protection.

Warm Southern Breezesaid

James B. Bunchsaid

Jenny, If you don’t like the way your “Scrooge” treats you, QUIT! Find a better boss or start your own business. If this Scrooge is so bad, enough good employees will quit, and he will go out of business! A business can not successfully operate without good employees. No one is chained to their job. I left a couple of companies when I thought I was not treated right. Started making more money and was much happier. THE AVERAGE EMPLOYER ONLY PAYS ENOUGH TO KEEP HIS EMPLOYEES FROM QUITTING. THE AVERAGE EMPLOYEE ONLY WORKS HARD ENOUGH TO KEEP FROM GETTING FIRED. Most employers will reward above average
employees.

James – You are obviously below average intelligence if you really think that people can just up and quit because they don’t like something – you fail to take into account right to work states (which is what Alabama is), the fact that most jobs are skilled are specialized in this day and age, or can someone just afford to put family at risk by up and leaving their job. You are encouraging irresponsibility and irrational thinking. Not to mention that people are chained to their jobs, unless you are twenty or something.

How about you read up on employment during the gilded age, so that you can better understand why these protections were implemented in the first place.

Jimsaid

Nunya, the guided age was over a hundred years ago. Most employers know that a happy employee is more productive and this benefits everybody. Quit being a victim! Are you so weak that you cannot stand up for yourself? That you need Big Brother government and unions to hold your hand?

I am “below average intelligence?” I earned degrees in business management and psychology, have worked hourly, commissioned sales, and salaried. I have also managed businesses and owned my own business. Having been on both sides of the table, I am well versed in employee-employers relations. What is on your resume’ ?

idiajsaid

Are you serious? Do you have any idea what it would be like if the govt (union) had not fought for the overtime, saturday/sunday off, insurance, good working conditions, age of the people who can work. Dude get a grip.
Greed is the reason jobs go off shore, not requiring good working conditions with adequate pay.

Charlie Mansonsaid

Sorry, I accidently hit the down button instead of the up button. Idiaj says it all and correctly. People actually fought, shed blood, and died for the Labor Rights we have today to protect workers from unscrupulous employers. Sorry to say, idiots like Roby can get elected and still put out their b.s. and call themselves Americans.

You must have forgotten history, Mike. Without some laws to protect workers, employers would f*&^ employees over as much and as often as possible. Do you not understand this? Do you not understand that one hundred years ago, workers fought for the 40-hour work week, the five-day work week, a minimum wage, a minimum age (eliminating child sweat shops), sick days, vacation days? Are you really that clueless on the history of employment in this country? Sweet Sadie …

Not true,Dan,he did NOT institute the 40 hr work week. He was NO friend to the working man. He hired some of the most VICIOUS strikebreakers to keep unions out of his factories. The one thing Ford DID do to his credit,was he paid his workers well. At a time when an auto worker was earning something like a dollar a day,Ford was paying 5 .( The Dodge Brothers threatened to SUE him over it. The WSJ declared the end of the world as we know it!) His reason was that if he paid minimum wages,the men working for him would NEVER be able to afford the cars they were building. THAT would create resentment and quality would suffer. Besides,look at all the SALES he would lose. He din’t put in the 40 hr work week until it became a regulation.

DTsaid

Because the minute they stop, minimum wage would be done away with. Then you’d have Wal-mart dropping pay to compete with the Chinese. And then every American business would follow their business model or have to drop their pay as well, to compete. Pretty soon we’re all sleeping on dirt floors.

Mike,
To point out the error in your logic, please let me try to elaborate on one example, a recent one from my home state of Maine.

We recently had an attempt by Conservatives to modify the portion of our employment law that limits the number of hours high school student are allowed to work during the school year. I may not have the numbers precise, but it went something like this.

Currently, our law limits when 16 and 17 year-olds can work as follows:
• No more than 6 hours on a school day.
• No more than 10 hours on any holiday, vacation, or workshop day.
• On last day of school week may work up to 8 hours.
• No more than 24 hours in a week except may work 50 hours any week that approved school calendar is less than 3 days or during the first and last week of school calendar.

And for those under 16, it’s even more restrictive. And if memory serves, the attempt was to increase the number of hours that these teenagers are allowed to work per week by 50% or more. And the point that proponents made was that this was obviously not a requirement that they work that many hours, but simply that it was their option.

The problem, you see, with modifying this law is that it would serve to push a large number of hard-studying teenagers out of the workforce, because employers would then be able to favor the teenagers who were willing to work the extra hours; the ones who did not feel the need to focus on their studies. Why, in this day and age when a strong education is very important in the American workforce, would we be wanting to discourage students from studying? The only alternative for those hard-studying teenagers who need to work would be for them to cut back on their studies and be willing to work the longer hours/week that employers would be requiring for their entry into the job market. That’s a very sad unintended consequence.

Mauricesaid

A College education is extremely over-rated and nothing but a large push by corporations. Wars, high taxes and regulations have destroyed opportunities for everyone in America. The debt our government has taken on for these social programs have basically bankrupt us. Maybe we shouldn’t be trying so hard to force everyone to go to College. It is arguably better for students to finish school later on but to have more work experience and more opportunity to earn income and not take on so much debt at such a young age, becoming slaves to corporate America and government handouts for the rest of their lives. There will always be poor people. Stop restricting them from working. I worked full time when I was 13 years old. Without that, I’d be homeless today. Stop assuming you are more knowledgeable and can make better decisions than the rest of us can about our own lives. If I’m 17 and want to work 40 hours a week and go to school another 40 hours a week, you have no right to try and stop me and keep me from having money for food, housing and school. Cut out the damn insistence on running everyone else’s lives already. Others are perfectly capable of making their own decisions

Yes, they’ve left our shores so that employers can pay people to work 18 hour days for a chicken and two sticks to rub together every month. Those of us who aren’t fervently adherent to political ideology to the point of forfeiting all rationale can see this easily.

The reality is that these laws did not appear out of a vacuum, nor out of mere desire to regulate business. The laws were written and enacted because of the abusive practices of business. You do have the “liberty” to walk off the job and go to work for some other business that is exactly like the one you left. Wow.

Unless you’re in a union, you do not have the liberty to require an employer to engage in safe and ethical work practices. You have no power in the workplace to effect change — except as provided by labor laws. Without legislation stipulating safe and ethical practices, you have nothing except boot licking to maintain your position in the company. You could not sue the employer after the unprotected bandsaw zipped off your right arm or the asbestos left you with one lung and a $1 million medical debt. If the employer declines to pay you time-and-a-half for that 40 hours of OT last week, only labor law protects you.

Sadly, in the modern-day pursuit of Mammon, the “grubbing for geld” mentality has overtaken the American workplace in a way that exceeds even the abuses of the Gilded Age of 100 years ago. Coal companies spent millions of dollars over decades denying health problems caused by the effects of coal dust; as did the companies producing asbestos deny mesothelioma, as did companies marketing tobacco products deny lung cancer, as did the chemical companies deny environmental pollution. When your own health, safety and future are concerned, you’re an idiot to believe your employer. You’re nothing but a back and a pair of hands deployed in the pursuit of profit, to be discarded when you no longer provide sufficient output in that cause.

Mike Pontsaid

This is just another try by the state that is happy living in the dark ages to share its backwardness with the rest of the nation. I have watched the uneducated, backwoods dwelling, redneck people elect and reelect the most oppressive candidates to govern and represent this state! The state is run by the religious right and far right tea publicans. This proposed legislation needs to be tossed in the trash!

Warm Southern Breezesaid

Nicksaid

Uneducated, backwoods dwelling, rednecks. Have you met all of us sir? I’m thrilled we live in a country where you can preserve your right to be a pompous ass. I for one don’t agree with this bill and yes I’ve read because this ole hillbilly learnt to read before him wuz in kinnygarden. Good job making yourself look like a narrow minded nitwit. Good day.

Warm Southern Breezesaid

Svensaid

Look at the current compensatory time practices that most employers offer and you’ll see that this INCREASES the amount of compensatory time an employee would receive if they CHOSE to accept the comp time, in lieu of pay. The bill does not state that it eliminates overtime.

James B. Bunchsaid

robert ardsaid

FyI she is not in the dam GOP. They kicked her butt out when she got herself into that scandal a few years ago. She is an independent! This is just another attempt for liberals pugs to discredit the republicans. Thank you for informing the voters cause she will be up for reelection soon.

franksaid

Easy on the scaremongering. What is wrong with people being allowed to take comptime in lieu of money? The worker is not being forced to accept comptime, if the person does not want to.They are being paid at the end of the year if they don’t use the time. The companies and government agencies are not being required to go this route, if there is a prior agreement otherwise. If an employee goes over the the 160 hours of comptime accumulated, they would have to be paid money for any overtime worked. They may not be asked to work though, but eventually that worker will be needed to work overtime.

Warm Southern Breezesaid

Hi Frank! Thanks for reading & sharing your thoughts. The bill is problematic for the reasons shared in the post. It’s not an attempt at “scaremongering.” Personally, I think it has little chance of passing.

Jasonsaid

WSB, when you state that this is potentially the first step that could eventually lead to the revocation of Child Labor laws and getting rid of unions, then it is precisely scaremongering. You provide little actual analysis, and only highlight the potential dire outcomes, which are all worst case scenarios. You don’t provide any context for your quotes, and your article title is meant to sensationalize instead of inform. Your logic fallacies abound (straw man, slippery slope, ad hominem attacks, to name but a few); additionally, you draw incorrect conclusions and misstate facts. HR 1406 does not END overtime pay requirements, as you state, but instead allows the employee the option of receiving compensatory time, instead. The employee can still choose overtime pay; even if the employee opts for compensatory time, the employer must pay the employee for any unused compensatory time. So, given that you misstate facts, provide information out of context, and then use that information to, in an illogcial way, lead people to unlikely worst case scenarios, then I would say that you are scaremongering.

Jason The problem is it would be very easy during negotiations for the employer to push through a PTO requirement in lieu of OT pay, then simply disapprove requests to use the time or use that earned time to replace existing vacation and sick leave, which is a loss to the employees. It sets up an easy way to game the system for corporations and weakens the collective bargaining ability of the unions. If we accept this, then I do believe that even more damaging legislation would be forthcoming. The goal is to break the unions piece by piece.

jeffsaid

I hope your cutting YOUR overtime pay too miss roby! Don’t enforce things you wouldn’t want done to you! And if your cutting overtime pay then noone should have to work overtime it should be optional at all employers and if you refuse and the company wants to fire you that should be illegal!

Tom Allensaid

jj droggsaid

Idiot. Businesses can’t afford to give the stretched-thin workforce time off. They would much rather pay the measly 50% extra, instead of hire more people.
In the 70’s, the military needed those huge C5 airplanes, for the war. It was a ‘national emergency’, and all employees had to work 7/12’s. Maybe longer? And many people lived an hour or two away, so they didn’t bathe, and slept in their cars.
Plus, the planes were built wrong. The gov wanted them built right away, without the needed redesign. They spent mega-millions beefing up the wings, after the war.

Cheri Grossaid

I dont agree because my husband works for an offshore company and they work 7/12. Last yr alone he worked a total of 330 days out the yr! Everyone who does some kind of overtime should be compensated for their time. These companies know damn well that of these employees did not work the overtime their projects or tasks would NEVER get finished!

Chevonnesaid

Thanks for the info. I will most certainly research this before our next election. However, I will not be following this site. I’m amazed that I even have the intelligence to read since we are all backwoods dwelling rednecks.

Everyone doesn’t seem to be a fan of your work. I received this comment about your post.

Corey Darrough | November 21, 2013 at 6:56 pm

H.R. 1406 would not END anything. It would allow employees (or unions) the choice of taking Paid Time Off (Compensatory time) at a rate of 1.5H PTO per 1H worked over 40 hours in one week. Which, I need not mention is exactly the same rate as Overtime pay.

As I mentioned, it would be a CHOICE. The employee can ask for the compensatory time, if they do not, then they will receive standard overtime pay by default.

For a Republican, this is a very liberal and EXCELLENT idea. Please read and research before you re-post misleading articles.

The House Republican bill H.R. 1406 is the latest in a string of GOP attacks on workers’ rights. The bill would force an unnecessary choice between overtime pay that workers rely on and time off that they may never be able to take advantage of. H.R. 1406 would give employers the ability to offer compensatory time off in exchange for any overtime wages the worker has earned. For instance, under current law, if an hourly employee is paid at 1.5 times the rate of their wage for hours worked more than 40 hours in a week. However, under this bill, the employer can take all of those wages earned above 40 hours and put into a pot for future time off that is controlled by the employer. In other words, the worker would not get paid for the work they perform during their current pay period. Unused time would be paid back at the end of the year, amounting to a no-interest loan to employers from workers.

Workers shouldn’t have to choose between the overtime pay they need and the family-friendly policies they desire.

Democrats have introduced many proposals to provide needed family friendly leave policies without taking away workers’ overtime rights.
Congress should be looking at ways to give workers more power over their lives, not hand over hard-fought rights won by workers to their employers.
This bill is a worn-out idea being pushed by the House leadership as part of their effort to soften the Republican brand.

The exact bill was proposed and died in committee in 2003. It will go no further than the House of Representatives. It is a waste of time.
Instead of focusing on the real challenges we face, the Republican majority is advancing policies that benefit the powerful at the expense of the broad interests of the American people.
The House Republican leadership rebranding effort will ultimately fail because the agenda being advanced hurts working families and the middle class.
This bill gives employers the flexibility not to pay overtime to their workers. Workers who need flexibility in the workplace are not guaranteed time off when they need it under this bill.

Workers will not get paid for hours that exceed 40 hours a week. That compensation will instead go into a pot that will be controlled by their employer.
The employer can refuse to allow a worker to take time off to deal with a family member or attend a parent-teacher conference. This is not real flexibility for workers.
It’s an interest-free loan paid for by the workers’ wages since unused comp time will be paid back the worker at the end of the year.
Weak penalties in the bill will encourage employers to coerce workers into giving up their overtime rights.

John McCallsaid

You all have this bill totally wrong. The bill gives the employee the choice of overtime or comp time. It does not take away the option of overtime pay. It simply gives the employee the option of time off later. I think it is a good bill.

Tim R.said

Yes, they have the “option.” Allow me to demonstrate via a short dialog…

Employer: “Hello non-union employee, There is a new law that gives you the ‘option’ to select compensatory time instead of overtime. Please let me know what you’d like to select. Of course remember that I don’t like paying overtime and I can fire you for any reason or no reason (as long as it’s not a specified illegal reason that you are able to prove in expensive litigation in a court of law). So what do you choose?”

James B. Bunchsaid

Tim, you are WRONG! I Quote from the bill “Prohibits an employer from intimidating, threatening, or coercing an employee in order to: (1) interfere with the employee’s right to request or not to request compensatory time off in lieu of payment of monetary overtime compensation, or (2) require an employee to use such compensatory time.

Makes an employer who violates such requirements liable to the affected employee in the amount of the compensation rate for each hour of compensatory time accrued, plus an additional equal amount as liquidated damages, reduced for each hour of compensatory time used.”

This foolish woman has no idea what the impact of this bill would be to the thousands upon thousands who work a wage job and need that overtime pay. SHE HAS NEVER WORKED A REAL JOB! Most likely born with a GOLD spoon in her mouth with servants so she has NO CLUE to what its like to earn a wage. SHAME ON HER!

Warm Southern Breezesaid

Hi Lynda! I would tend to agree with you that Rep. Martha Roby has never had a “real” job in her life. Being an attorney – while it is a despised and necessary profession – it is honorable. As I am fond of saying, everybody hates lawyers… until they need one. It would seem to me that Rep. Roby needs more experience “under her belt” before she continues her political career. And yet, the folks in Montgomery apparently approved of her. Why that is, I do not know.

Warm Southern Breezesaid

Hi Dan! Thanks for reading & sharing your thoughts. You are correct. The bill does NOT eliminate overtime pay. It would only allow employers to swap time off in the equivalent of time off for overtime pay at the same rate… BUT! Only with a Collective Bargaining agreement. And that, my dear friend, is part of the problem, which I addressed in the entry. Thanks again!

Paulsaid

No. You are reading it wrong. It’s not that you can only be compensated at all with a collective bargaining agreement. That’s not what it says. It doesn’t say you get nothing without a bargaining agreement. It’s saying that you get overtime pay, UNLESS you opt for the time off instead, either through a bargaining agreement or personal choice. Either way, you are compensated. It’s your choice, or your union’s choice, as to which way you are compensated. Under no circumstances are you not compensated at all. Again, to be clear: By default, you get overtime pay. If you or your union opt for time off, you get that instead. Calm down. This article is misinformation on the level of Fox News.

Mikesaid

The text says “With a collective bargaining agreement OR with consent of affected employees. So if the company is unionized, it details would be addressed in the contract. If not unionized, the employee would have the choice. This would be especially beneficial to newer employees with little vacation time.

Warm Southern Breezesaid

Hi Kristi! Thanks for reading, and for your reply. To answer your question, yes, I have read the bill, as well as other opinions – official and non-official – on it. The way it’s written is particularly problematic, as I have so stated. What would improve the bill – if it were to garner serious consideration – would be to allow for the employees to choose for themselves, and NOT BE COERCED by their employer’s strong arm. Again, such points were mentioned in the post. Thanks again!

Kristisaid

Isn’t that what this line in the bill addresses: Allows employers to offer employees a choice between cash wages and comp time for overtime hours worked. Employees who want to receive cash wages would continue to do so.

Svensaid

The bill, as is, allows the employee to choose, not the employer. Perhaps you should reread it. To paraphrase Indigo Montoya, “You keep using that word. I don’t think it means what you think it means.”

Read here in this part of the bill for that particular protection Breeze. If you did actually read this bill, (and not just the summary) I think you missed something.

“(4) Private employer actions.–An employer that provides
compensatory time under paragraph (1) to employees shall not
directly or indirectly intimidate, threaten, or coerce or
attempt to intimidate, threaten, or coerce any employee for the
purpose of–
“(A) interfering with such employee’s rights under
this subsection to request or not request compensatory
time off in lieu of payment of monetary overtime
compensation for overtime hours; or
“(B) requiring any employee to use such
compensatory time.

Jeansaid

We need to vote out everyone in Montgomery and Washington and let them know we are tired of this kind of stuff. We elect our officials to go and protect us and they only pad their pockets and rip up every chance they get, if we vote all them out maybe the next bunch would listen to the lay people and if not they could be one term folks and so forth and so on. After a period of years they might get the message and listen to the people who elected them. I am so sick of politicians thinking they are so smart and are the ultimate supreme and what we want does not matter, because we don’t count. Wrong wrong wrong!!!

Warm Southern Breezesaid

Hi Jean! Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts. Please accept my apologies for a tardy response. Whereas once, I opposed term limitations for legilators (specifically Congress), now, I favor them. It seems to me that 2 Senate terms (12 years) and 4 House terms (8 years) for a GRAND COMBINED TOTAL of 20 years elected public service ought to be enough for anyone. And, as far as I know, the only person who has come close to any type of self-imposed term limitation is Dr. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, who was first elected in the House of Representatives, and vowed an oath during his first campaign not to serve (or compete to serve) in the House for more than three terms, and in the Senate for more than two. While philosophically and politically, there are points of disagreement with his perspective and mine on some matters, there are others with which I agree with him.

Thanks again for reading, and most importantly, for sharing your thoughts!

Ahsaid

Already have this problem. It’s called a salaried position. And I only get an already decided amount of time to be off per year, called “sick days”. 8 of them. But anytime there is a late event, or unexpected work load increase, I can count on staying late and also working from home, working weekends, you name it.

Warm Southern Breezesaid

Hi Ah! Thanks for reading & sharing your thoughts. The primary problem with salaried positions is that not everyone has them. But then again, the matter is not necessarily one of eliminating money… it is of eliminating abuse. Because, as I’m certain you know, being salaried does not necessarily prevent abuse.

DTsaid

No offense, but I would gladly take the extra work load or late event in exchange for access to better benefits and a more regular set of hours than the sketchy various schedules and meager benefit options those of us who punch a clock receive. Some weeks I may have 40 or more hours, others I may only have 20. The only way to plan a monthly budget is to prepare for the least amount of hours and hope for the best. I’d gladly trade you!

Tedsaid

I’ve had it both ways, and I gotta say, I prefer the sketchy hours. I like to try to find ways to keep me busy, or entertained, around the house, that can also bring in/save a little cash. Rather than spend all my spare time making money for someone else, at the expense of my family/social life. But that doesn’t mean I want to play games with my employer about the time I’m owed.

Most salary contracts include a certain number of overtime hours in their clauses. My first merchandising job’s salary was contracted at 40 hours + 20 hours OT. Which meant that my hourly pay was almost minimum-wage to balance properly. But it still wasn’t a problem, since the rare occasions we did go over 60, we were paid double-time.

Cynsaid

Perhaps this has already been stated, but who’s to say companies OFFER Comp Time!! One may just be screwed out of OT in general.. You have to admit there are very few laws that protect in the workplace.

tomsaid

Chrissaid

Did y’all actually READ the bill? It gives the option of either getting paid the OT at 1.5 times or get Comp time at 1.5 times. If that comp time is not used the employer is required to pay it out at the end of the year. This gives more options to the worker who would rather have the comp time than the pay. Sensationalize much?

Tedsaid

Provided the company keeps good track, and doesn’t try to bully the worker out of either option. What stops the company from forcing the worker to take said comp instead of a layoff, denying fair unemployment? Thats the sort of fine print thing that I’m worried about, as an american laborer.

Cameronsaid

What stops the company from forcing the worker to take the comp time? Maybe the very bill we are discussing:

Prohibits an employer from intimidating, threatening, or coercing an employee in order to: (1) interfere with the employee’s right to request or not to request compensatory time off in lieu of payment of monetary overtime compensation, or (2) require an employee to use such compensatory time.

Maybe you are worried that the company will skirt around the law, and that the employee will be powerless because they do not understand the law or cannot afford to take the employer to court. These are valid concerns, but that is basically a problem with employment law and now with this law in particular. Basically, if the employer is a rotten dirtbag that tries to cheat its employees, it is probably already doing so.

Another thing worth mentioning is that the employer doesn’t actually save any money if the employee takes time off instead of comp pay. This is because the employer will be paying wages to the employee who is off, AND will be paying wages to the employee that takes their place. Consider this scenario: I work 60 hours this week, and I request time and a half pay for the 20 hours OT. Next week, I work 40 hours. My employer pays me a total of 110 wage hours in this 2 week period. Now, consider if I had worked 60 hours, and instead requested time and a half off instead. Next week, I work for 10 hours and take my 30 hours off. My employer pays me 80 wage hours over the two weeks, but also has to pay another employee 30 wage hours to cover the time I didn’t work in the second week. In both scenarios, the employer pays 110 hours, and got 60 hours of labor followed by 40 hours of labor. The only difference is whether that labor was divided among one person or two.

Since it is more cost effective to have one person do a job rather than two (due to the increased overhead of training and otherwise “managing” more people), it would be more inconvenient for the employer if the employee did take the time off. This bill may actually be bad for that reason, and you might legitimately oppose the bill for this reason. Just make sure you do the research and put some thought into it.

Alsaid

THe Republicans are slaves to the business community, this bill doesn’t help the standard of living for American workers it just mandates more control for corporations to exploit the American worker. American Workers deserve to be respected by their political representative. Roby will be offered a pplum job once she loses her seat.

Natesaid

Bet you get paid really good off the taxes that you get off of our overtime pay? You people need to eat sandwiches and potato chips and then let us poor folks know how you feel! The government needs an uprising with some good ole country folks! This is stupid and makes me ashamed to call myself a republican !

Carriesaid

I really want to know her rational behind this Bill. I can’t grasp the idea that she values not paying people for services rendered. My husband works overtime frequently. He’s a building engineer and many of the the things he has to do has to be done through the night when tenants aren’t present. Theses things need to be done to uphold the safety of the building. And what about a firefighter who works OT to save a life? Do we really think time off is a valuable compensation? I’m a school teacher. I work overtime everyday. I work above and beyond whats stated in my contract. I don’t get time and a half and I don’t get time off. Maybe she should work on a Bill capping the amounts of money politicians make or some Bills in education that will help strengthen education. And not a bill that screws the middle class even more.

Tim Kammerersaid

Can’t wait for election time, Get rid of this bitch and every other bitch and asshole who are favoring corperations and are trying to take away the rights and previlages of every american in this country and hopefully start over with maybe some honest people for a change….

Lindasaid

My husband works 6 days a week 10 to 12 hour shifts plus a 1 1/2 drive one way making it a 3 hour round trip to work and back to home. And thanks to Obama our taxes has doubled and our hospital insurance has doubled. And now Martha Roby you want to take overtime pay away from the hard working people that are trying to make a honest living and provide for there family. My husband is told to work these crazy hours if he don’t he is threaten with his job either work or go off the hill you can be replaced in a matter of minutes. It is a shame the way these companies treat there employees and get by with it. Martha Roby if you had to work hard for you money and like a lot of hard working Americans do in stead of sitting on your ass. Would love to see you go out and work 10 to 12 hour shifts at some hard labor and see if you would like your OT taking away.

Marksaid

I don’t agree with the original post….seems very biased. I don’t know that it is a great bill, but our American workforce has got to compete with others from around the world….this is why we are falling off on our GDP and will continue to fall if we don’t change up our great entitlement and benefits all around mentality! There are so many rules protecting workers, so many giving rights, and so much compliance that these tycoon business owners are unable to compete! Raising the minimum wage from $7.25 to over $10 will also be another killer for employees….that’s right, employees! That being said, reap what you all are sowing, and you can keep buying chinese merchandise for a long time to come!! P.S. Teamster and Tom, your posts are unintelligent and disgusting….way to contribute!

Ronsaid

Some can understand this proposal, some can’t. Point being, why is it not written clearly and simple to avoid such debates. When it comes to politics or news, people in such professions no longer have a desire to speak naturally, and definitely do not have a desire to interpret something with common sense. They choose to over examine, speculate, devour, and mislead a persons statement until it is of a new meaning, of which they know it was not the intent of the original speaker. It is like when someone knows what they mean, they shrug their shoulders, and they say, “You know what I mean”, or “Come on guys”. Why have we ventured from common human conversation into a detail only oriented technical speaking and deciphering scheme? That was a mouthful of bad English, but you get the point.

Anastasiasaid

Because of laws forcing employers to pay time and a half, any job I, or my husband has had, has given us no end of grief if we incur overtime, mostly meaning lower scoring year reviews thus lower pay raises. So because of these time and a half laws on the books I’m not allowed to work any extra hours at all. So once again, extra government regulation is just hurting me and my law income family, not helping it. Best to take it away all together.

Joysaid

While I agree that OT should not be eliminated, but the author writes this as if he is familiar with the Fair Standards Labor Act which in fact he is not. He isn’t even slightly concerned for the welfare of his fellow coworkers. Because if he was, he would not be proporting the labor laws as fair. They are not. How many of you are aware that these same laws allow certain businesses to pay less than minimum wage to employees with disabilities? They are paid piece rate, meaning they are paid by how much they complete, which given that they have a disability isn’t much sometimes. Their checks are often times less than $5.00. So get indignant over that before you get mad over this.

Tedsaid

I worked for a company out of Maryland that did this to us. They claimed it was perfectly legitimate, but we knew better. When we tried to take our time they claimed we were too busy to allow anyone time off. “After this contract”, then came another. Needless to say I was never fully compensated, which is probably my own fault for not fighting harder. Anyways, bad idea.
On another note, the author mentioned Child Labor Laws, which I think are a little too strict. I think this country would be a much better place if kids were still encouraged to go out and get odd jobs. Nothing wrong with picking berries, yard work, house cleaning, paper routes, etc. Obviously they shouldn’t be doing work men should do, but KEEPING THEM BUSY with something that is also rewarding in a way thay can see immediately teaches them something T.V., and video games, or even modern school systems just can’t provide.

William lakesaid

Your article makes it seem like a bad thing. Read the bill. It’s actually helping employees. The overall choice in the matter is on the employee. If they have a bargaining agreement it was voted on by the employees. The employer can’t impose this on the worker. So if you want to get the overtime you can still get the money and if you want to build your leave up for a extended weekend, vacation, routine appointments, etc. then you can.

Jensaid

The law sounds terrible. But, you say in your article that “At Will” is a re-branding of “Right to Work.” They are actually completely different things. Every state but Montana is an at-will state. Some states have right to work laws, that essentially mean that you cannot be required to join a union.

Hawkeyesaid

No offense to you warmsouthernbreeze, but I don’t think you correctly read the law and what it is proposing. There is nothing radical about this, and for a Republican, this is a very liberal idea. I’m not sure when giving the employee more options on what to do with their overtime became a bad thing. 1.5 hours of Paid time off per hour worked over 40 in one week is the same rate as taking the time-an-a-half pay per hour worked.

If the employer doesn’t offer comp time, then the employee gets Overtime. Simple enough, and good for the employee. Read the law and make sure you understand it before writing such an inflammatory article please!

California Girlsaid

I’m sorry, maybe I’m not reading it correctly, but it doesn’t appear to me that it “eliminates” overtime pay so much as provide that employers and their employees (whether or not they are unionized) can choose whether overtime is compensated with time off or overtime pay. This doesn’t sound like the worst thing in the world. Now, whether there are safeguards to ensure employees lacking a collective bargaining entity aren’t improperly coerced one way or the other is a different kettle of fish, but I think you might be overreacting to the general aim of the law.

Angie Warnersaid

It’s always baffled me why people who work hourly wages and are from the South think the Republican Party is for them! This Is a perfect example and the fact they are trying to stop the hourly minimum wage from being raised! It’s not just her! As you can see, this would be another victory for corporate America! Then corporate America say without us there would be no jobs! Well without the blue collar Americans there would be a poorer corporate America!

Ronsaid

Some can understand this proposal, some can’t. Point being, why is it not written clearly and simple to avoid such debates. When it comes to politics or news, people in such professions no longer have a desire to speak naturally, and definitely do not have a desire to interpret something with common sense. They choose to over examine, speculate, devour, and mislead a persons statement until it is of a new meaning, of which they know it was not the intent of the original speaker. It is like when someone knows what they mean, they shrug their shoulders, and they say, “You know what I mean”, or “Come on guys”. Why have we ventured from common human conversation into a detail only oriented technical speaking and deciphering scheme? That was a mouthful of bad English, but you get the point.

what kind of bullshit is this comp pay fuck comp pay times are hard enought people like me depend on that over time pay we need that over time pay now not at the end of the year thats what filling income taxes is for i bet that bitch was given everything growing up get that bitch out of there

Treasasaid

At the rate these politicians/government are messing things up we will be lucky if we are all not standing in front of a garbage can trying to keep warm. Wtf. Why don’t they just face it. We are never going to be out if debt. Print some more money off and let’s enjoy life while we are alive.

Donnasaid

Why don’t you stop your lies. If you need the bill explained, this might help you…………The Working Families Flexibility Act: Allows employers to offer employees a choice between cash wages and comp time for overtime hours worked. Employees who choose to receive cash wages would be able to continue to do so. The employer and the employee would have to complete a written agreement to use comp time. The agreement would be entered into knowingly and voluntarily by the employee. This protects all existing employee protections in current law, including the 40 hour work week and how overtime compensation is accrued. Employers would be required to pay cash wages for any unused time at the end of the year. Workers could ‘cash out’ their accrued comp time whenever they choose to do so.

As passed by the House, The Working Families Flexibility Act of 2013 would allow private-sector workers to receive paid time off, or “comp time,” for overtime hours worked. A working mom or dad could use an hour of overtime he or she earned as paid “time and a half” off work instead of “time and a half” cash, if that’s what they prefer. The “comp time” option is legal and commonly used in the public sector thanks to a 1985 revision of the Fair Labor Standards Act, but remains restricted by federal law for private businesses and their employees. No worker could be forced to take paid time off, and no business owner could be forced to offer it.
There, that’s it…..nothing scary, only more options for employees!!

Bukko Boomerangersaid

For the people who think that workers are shielded from unpaid overtime because the proposed law only applied to folks under “collective bargaining agreements,” that’s negated by the second bit of wording about “with the consent of the employees.” Which, if this took effect, would work out to be Mr. Boss saying “You consent to work 60 hours this week at straight-time pay, right? Because you want to keep your job, right? And if you want time-and-a-half, Ol’ Jim-Bob there starts at your job next week. After you train him over the weekend. At straight-time wages.” Consent my azz!

And let’s not forget that when a worker attempts to take that comp time off, the business is too busy to go without them, so forget those vacation days. Or they’ll be UNPAID vacation days. Somehow, the workers will get screwed out of the supposed benefits from this deal. Because that’s the way it works in the real world. People with power will abuse it, if there are no laws in place to stop them, and law enforcers to slam those laws down on the heads of the abusers. It’s why we have police, eh? Armed robbery and murder are wrong, and no decent person would do those things, but the world has never been populated by decent people. In the Glibertarian mindset, though, businesses are all honest, there is no corruption, and everybody plays fair with each other. Yeaaaaaah, just like in my imaginary world I can leave my bicycle parked unlocked on a busy street and it will still be there when I come back…

Hmm how about the Fairness to voters act, which one provision of would reduce the pay of all members of congress to minimum wage; and would also eliminate all the perks which the receive as well. After all the original idea was to have citizen legislators who did their job for their constituents while working regular full time jobs and living their own private lives like every other citizen, not full time paid like royalty legislators who suck the tax money dry!!

Glen Fingarsaid

Your missing the point completely.
Allowing companies to offer time off instead of pay would be nothing but a disaster, most would force to to “bank” your hours then argue with you about how much comp time you have coming, or lay you off and force you to hire a lawyer to get your money. Put a misleading lable like “working families flexibility act” and everyone but labor historians will think its a great idea. If you really believe republicans have the best interest of workers in mind your sadly mistaken

James B. Bunchsaid

Have you read the bill? It says “Prohibits an employer from intimidating, threatening, or coercing an employee in order to: (1) interfere with the employee’s right to request or not to request compensatory time off in lieu of payment of monetary overtime compensation, or (2) require an employee to use such compensatory time.

Makes an employer who violates such requirements liable to the affected employee in the amount of the compensation rate for each hour of compensatory time accrued, plus an additional equal amount as liquidated damages, reduced for each hour of compensatory time used.”

Actually, this is the same system used in the Netherlands in the big corporations (e.g., Philips). My own company has a flex hour bank for every employee and that bank is reset every quarter. Per our works council and union agreements with the company (two different entities that favor the employee, one on-site and elected by the people that work there and one national), we are able to take flex time as we want and we can get our extra hours paid out every quarter when the bank resets. We can also request to carry over the hours to a new quarter if we can’t use the flex time and don’t want it paid out. It happens to be a great system and I love it. Sure, you don’t get your pay immediately and you can decide to take time off rather than work so you would get paid for that time as well since it was already owed to you.https://warmsouthernbreeze.wordpress.com/2013/04/21/alabama-republican-introduces-bill-to-eliminate-overtime-pay/#comment-form-load-service:Facebook
This is not to say that some horrid Republican corporate whores like this one won’t find a way to screw people, especially when they introduce the “collective bargaining” into the picture. Since collective bargaining is one of the many things the GOP and their business masters have been pushing to eliminate or severely curtail, you just know that hidden somewhere deep in the Byzantine text of the bill will be something that bends over the employees and shows them the meaning of the word “corporate relations”.

There is always a ruse with Republicans, though, and I think it’s the way the comp time is calculated. Ours is purely by when you clock in and out, but I don’t see how it will work for employees that are on strict schedules, such as shift workers or people in time sensitive industries. But it could work if you could really insure that the employees weren’t getting screwed in the deal.

You are an idiot with no reading comprehension skills. The part you mention about unions just means this bill doesn’t affect Union contracts. Current law also doesn’t affect Union contracts.
The second part of that summary point just means individual employees decide between comp time or traditional overtime pay. That is why the next point forbids employers from coercing the worker.
You have either misunderstood the whole issue, or you are just a democrap tool lying to gullible people.

bigruss_usn_vetsaid

WSB, apparently you didn’t read the bill because it does not say they are doing away with overtime, it just gives an option for using comp time instead of overtime. This bill would up the compensation ratio on comp time from 1:1 to 1.5:1, actually being better than it is now. Typical liberal and union scaremongering!

Jack F.said

If employers are unable to coerce workers, then corporations shouldn’t possess the ability to force workers to work overtime hours at the same pay rate. If this law was to be passed, it could blow up in their faces, because without having employees who desire to work extra hours, the company will be forced to hire extra employees to do the extra work, thus adding to the payroll and benefits.

Marksaid

Are you high or something. Overtime was created for the fact that if your business wants to take more time away from families that you will pay more. Family time is worth more then what you work for. If this passes the whole state of Alabama in every work sector should strike until this abomination gets revoked. This is absolutely absurd thinking, how can you think this is a good idea and that it will help your countrymen, were not china and nor shall we intend to be. Stop accepting jobs for less wages like non union scabs. It’s an abomination to even ponder this idea. Stand up for your rights people let your voices be heard so as a whole we can continue to move forward and not backwards. Lets move to a new age and not back to a Stone Age. All you business owners stop thinking of your pockets and start thinking of health and welfare.

Mauricesaid

A College education is extremely over-rated and nothing but a large push by corporations. Wars, high taxes and regulations have destroyed opportunities for everyone in America. The debt our government has taken on for these social programs have basically bankrupt us. Maybe we shouldn’t be trying so hard to force everyone to go to College. It is arguably better for students to finish school later on but to have more work experience and more opportunity to earn income and not take on so much debt at such a young age, becoming slaves to corporate America and government handouts for the rest of their lives. There will always be poor people. Stop restricting them from working. I worked full time when I was 13 years old. Without that, I’d be homeless today. Stop assuming you are more knowledgeable and can make better decisions than the rest of us can about our own lives. If I’m 17 and want to work 40 hours a week and go to school another 40 hours a week, you have no right to try and stop me and keep me from having money for food, housing and school. Cut out the damn insistence on running everyone else’s lives already. Others are perfectly capable of making their own decisions.

Dan Tannehillsaid

Did you people read the bill for yourself? Or did you sheeple just decide it’s a bad idea because the Congresswoman is a Republican?

“H.R. 1406 would amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to provide compensatory time for employees in the private sector. In lieu of overtime pay, employees could receive compensatory time off at a rate not less than one and one-half hours for each hour of employment for which overtime pay would otherwise have been required. Such compensatory time could be provided only in accordance with a collective bargaining agreement or with the consent of affected employees. ”

The bill offers a choice. Either take overtime pay at time and a half, or take future time off at the rate of one and one half hours per hour of overtime. And comp. time cannot be forced on an employee without either C.B. or the employee’s consent.

Now let’s look at a hypothetical situation. A factory gets an unusually large order that needs to be filled this week. Each worker is required to work 60 hours-that is the regular 40 hours plus 20 hours of overtime. Let’s just thro a number in here, say the base pay is $10 per hour. (I’m self employed in agriculture, so if the number is way off, just play along. I picked 10 because it makes the math easy). The following week, the schedule reverts to the regular 40 hours.

Under the old law, the worker will receive (before taxes and deductions) $700 this week and $400 next week for a total of $1100 for working 100 hours.

Under this new bill, the employer may offer comp time. Their incentive to do so is that next week, there may not be enough orders to keep everyone busy. They’d rather offer comp. time than lay off workers. For the workers that elect to use comp time, they will get 30 hours off this week. Remember, it’s 1-1/2 hours of comp time per hour of overtime. This week, they earn $600 for working 60 hours. Next week, they only work 10 hours, so they only get $100. So, altogether, they earn $700 or $400 less than the old way. However, for a worker with young children, they get an extra 30 hours this week to spend with them. If the $400 difference would be a hardship, the option to take overtime pay still rests with the employee. If, on the other hand, they are in good financial shape, they can spend some valuable time with family.

Granted, Big Government wants us to turn over our families to them for raising while we labor away deep in the hive. This bill gives the worker some freedom to choose if he’d rather work for a dwindling dollar or spend a little extra time with Junior.

Compensatory time is paid leave, not unpaid leave. So in your example, 60 hours under comp time = $600 and 30 hours comp time banked this week. Next week would be 10 hours + 30 hours comp time spent = $400. For a total of $1000. That’s $100 less than the OT option for the same amount of pay-hours (100) but only 70 actual work-hours.

In essence, the person in this example would be getting paid $1000 for 70 work-hours over two weeks, instead of $700 for 70 work-hours over two weeks. Those extra 30 hours could be very important for workers with dependents to care for. And it helps employers that have no need to keep full-time 40-hour employees on staff.

I don’t see how this is a bad thing for employee or employer. This system works -very- well in favor of employers with the situation you just described, because they would only be paying out $1000 over two weeks, instead of $1100 and 30 hours of no work for full-time employees to perform. It also works out great for the employee, who would be making only $700 in those two weeks if the employer cut the hours to suit the job.

The only people threatened by this bill are unions and and employees that don’t pull their weight, but still want their full 40-hour workweek. Leeches that have the jobs that could be given to umemployed, hard-working Americans. Alabama doesn’t have unions, but oh boy do they have leeches. And it looks like those leeches are scared.

I don’t get what great problem this legislation purports to fix and I don’t get what great problem it creates. You have had a few serious commenters point out basic problems with your commentary which you have basically ignored. Your comments do wade deep into the fearmongering and employ much misleading.

It is the light of day that gets us to a better place–not the smoke of fear.

Warm Southern Breezesaid

Hi AFG! Thanks for reading & sharing your thoughts. While in some regard I concur with you, I hasten to point out that, given the anti-union sentiment (where collective bargaining agreements are often struck), and in conjunction with strong-arm and retaliatory tactics (though they are vehemently denied by firms who use them), that the employees would be forced to kow-tow to any such plan if the law were passed, and fired if they did not.

I further hasten to add that my addendum remarks (at the end of the post) should be further considered, which is that there is presently NOTHING preventing companies from ADDING such time off IN ADDITION TO any other compensatory pay & packages for their employees. That is the high road, which cheapskate, skinflint chiseling companies often avoid.

My name is Erick Wright I live Martha Roby district in Alabama. The people here are struggling with unemployment, violence, poor broadband Internet, cities without side walks, Automatic budget cuts crippling the two military bases, and government shutdowns causeing thousands of government contractors to miss work. This is my home! I can see her slowly destroying it. In Alabama we have a large influx of foreign manufacturers; kia, Hyundai, ect. There are Chinese busniess men thats visiting Dothan Alabama now in prospects of building factory jobs. This measure is a attempt to take american workers back, China doesnt have a minimum wage nor overtime they don’t reconize human rights. So why should I expect them to come to My Alabama and do something different? They are not and im not going allow them! Martha Roby is up for reelection and there isnt a Republican or Democrat that will oppose her. So ive taken it upon my self to petition the state of Alabama to have my name added to 2014 ballot. 15000 signtures is the mark to be added to the ballot I have collected 10000 already deadline is June. Alabama will have its 1st independent candidate. Please support the movement, Facebook/Justthinkwright. Com or Alabama2nd-JustThinkWright.com

Keithsaid

Yet another example of the economic slavery that is very common in this country. When holidays came around this year, my boss decided we HAD to work on the Sunday after Thanksgiving(on Tuesday afternoon). If we couldn’t due to prior plans, we lost all pay for the 2 day holiday. Meanwhile, he couldn’t work that Saturday beforehand because he went golfing.

OK first of all AL struck a nerve for me because one drunk is free after hitting me who lives there and no one will even go after him, so let me tell her a thing or two about why this is so very wrong. First of all there is a reason for overtime and I know from what I am speaking of because my husband works a lot of it. Do you know why? Because the BIG companies have figured out how to work their employees overtime, paying them what they should be making in a 40hour week and getting MORE hours out of them wearing out that worker. WHY: So they do not have to hire or train more workers and pay them and the insurance. What would be the best solution for this country and create MORE jobs would be to pass a law that says unless a company pays their workers a rate that keeps up with the rate of inflation, they cannot work them overtime and they HAVE to hire workers to pick up the slack. Tie this to the bonuses they are GIVING the CEOs and you have a REAL law that would have some teeth in it and would put people to work, let those who are already worn out have that time off they say they SO desperately need. All she is wanting to do is put more money in the CEOs pocket she is evidently getting in the money bed with.

Wow, way to totally misread the bill. Do you people understand the key points to this thing or what it does? All it allows an employee to do, UNDER THEIR CONSENT or UNDER A COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT is to trade their overtime work hour for 1 1/2 hours of paid time off…IN OTHER WORDS the employee would first have to consent and then wouldn’t lose a nickel! This would assist people like seasonal workers to maintain a more steady income….I can see all kinds of benefits to this.

I will also point out, this is an AMENDMENT, not a REPEAL AND REPLACEMENT…there is a huge difference. This does not in anyway remove the requirement of overtime pay, as I feel even with your amendment, you have implied. Instead this simply provides employees who consent or employees who want this under a collective bargaining agreement another avenue.

Reminds me of the film “Roller Ball”, starring James Cann.
Where corporations ruled and fought each other in the “game” for resources as opposed to going to war.

For all the gains Labor has made in the past century this is a frontal attack to all those protections. This opens up an entire gama of abuses that will be perpetrated by the corporate bosses. History repeats it’s self.
From where Ms. Roby sits, it must be easy to expound such idiocy.

Warm Southern Breezesaid

Hi Rich, and thanks for writing! Having read the article which you shared via linked URL, I noted the phrase “loophole that illegal immigrants have used to unlawfully obtain.” By definition, a “loophole” is legal and valid, simply because the law does not address the matter in the fashion being exploited. And, that’s what it is… an exploit. So, on that account, the blame should be squarely placed with those who write tax law, which is the Congress. I regard this matter –which I find onerous– a tit-for-tax… er, tit-for-tat political ploy in which both parties refuse to budge on two separate matters. That is, there is no willingness to compromise on any matter which would accomplish a greater good for the people. And it is precisely that type logjam which has so despitefully characterized this most recent Congress.

I also hasten to add this note on the ITIN: “The appearance of an ITIN is substantially similar to that of a SSN. ITINs consist of nine digits, though always beginning with the number “9.” Also similar to SSNs, ITINs are in some cases being used for broader purposes than originally intended. Due to this, the IRS is taking steps to curb ITIN use for purposes other than the filing of income tax returns. The IRS has openly discouraged, for instance, the use of ITINs for the issuance of driver’s licenses.”

Concluding, I ask this: Is there any rationally legitimate reason why ITINs cannot be changed from their present easily-confused similarity with SSANs?

Daniel talliasaid

How about we cut your pay you stupid cunt. Quit trying to hassle working Americans out of there hard earned money. Would you like it if we cut your money and made you work for free? Didn’t think so so fuck off you scum of the earth

Randysaid

wtf is wrong with this person? I’m guessing those part time jobs she struggled to live with pissed her off because her bosses never gave her extra hrs to get overtime so now she’s taking it out on everybody who does get overtime pay…. seems like she hasn’t come out of the mentality of high school drama. grow up!

Rorysaid

Read the bill, it actually improves workers rights and ability to elect to take time. Read this article, a partisan scum bag. Do people really think republicans want to “End Child Labor” or that you can actually be fired because “your eyes are blue, or hair is curly.” Complete rubbish which is the biggest issue in American politics and media, partisans spewing misinformation and pure BS.
And for those who won’t go to congress’ website and read the bill, here it is:Shown Here:
Passed House amended (05/08/2013)

Working Families Flexibility Act of 2013 – Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to authorize private employers to provide compensatory time off to private employees at a rate of 1 1/2 hours per hour of employment for which overtime compensation is required. Authorizes an employer to provide compensatory time only if it is in accordance with an applicable collective bargaining agreement or, in the absence of such an agreement, an agreement between the employer and employee.

Prohibits an employee from accruing more than 160 hours of compensatory time. Requires an employee’s employer to provide monetary compensation, after the end of a calendar year, for any unused compensatory time off accrued during the preceding year.

Requires an employer to give employees 30-day notice before discontinuing compensatory time off.

Prohibits an employer from intimidating, threatening, or coercing an employee in order to: (1) interfere with the employee’s right to request or not to request compensatory time off in lieu of payment of monetary overtime compensation, or (2) require an employee to use such compensatory time.

Makes an employer who violates such requirements liable to the affected employee in the amount of the compensation rate for each hour of compensatory time accrued, plus an additional equal amount as liquidated damages, reduced for each hour of compensatory time used.

Directs the Comptroller General (GAO) to report to Congress on: (1) the extent to which employers provide compensatory time off and employees opt to receive it; (2) the number of complaints filed by an employee with the Secretary of Labor alleging a violation of the requirements as well as enforcement actions commenced by the Secretary on behalf of an aggrieved employee; (3) the disposition of such complaints and actions; and (4) any unpaid wages, damages, penalties, injunctive relief, or other remedies sought by the Secretary in connection with such actions.

Try reading the actual bill. This is another partisan article full of BS. How can you take someone seriously who wrote how republicans would allow you to be fired for “eyes are blue, or hair is curly”…. This is the biggest issue with politics and media, no facts or leave out the pieces of fact that go against your narrative, lie and smear. This bill seems to improve working conditions and options for workers. Try reading it instead of relying on trash reporting like this.Shown Here:
Passed House amended (05/08/2013)

Working Families Flexibility Act of 2013 – Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to authorize private employers to provide compensatory time off to private employees at a rate of 1 1/2 hours per hour of employment for which overtime compensation is required. Authorizes an employer to provide compensatory time only if it is in accordance with an applicable collective bargaining agreement or, in the absence of such an agreement, an agreement between the employer and employee.

Prohibits an employee from accruing more than 160 hours of compensatory time. Requires an employee’s employer to provide monetary compensation, after the end of a calendar year, for any unused compensatory time off accrued during the preceding year.

Requires an employer to give employees 30-day notice before discontinuing compensatory time off.

Prohibits an employer from intimidating, threatening, or coercing an employee in order to: (1) interfere with the employee’s right to request or not to request compensatory time off in lieu of payment of monetary overtime compensation, or (2) require an employee to use such compensatory time.

Makes an employer who violates such requirements liable to the affected employee in the amount of the compensation rate for each hour of compensatory time accrued, plus an additional equal amount as liquidated damages, reduced for each hour of compensatory time used.

Directs the Comptroller General (GAO) to report to Congress on: (1) the extent to which employers provide compensatory time off and employees opt to receive it; (2) the number of complaints filed by an employee with the Secretary of Labor alleging a violation of the requirements as well as enforcement actions commenced by the Secretary on behalf of an aggrieved employee; (3) the disposition of such complaints and actions; and (4) any unpaid wages, damages, penalties, injunctive relief, or other remedies sought by the Secretary in connection with such actions.

Jeremysaid

I’m sorry,but all my upbringing is going out the window here for a min. This bitch is a fucking parasite and should be sent over to Syria so that she can have her pathetic head cut off. Why u ask? Because obviously she has no use for it being there are no brains in there. How dare this piece of shit bitch even entertain the thought of trying to pass this bill. I truly hope this woman gets everything she has coming. She is a traitor to her own American people and country. DIE BITCH!!!!

James B. Bunchsaid

Hey Jeremy, can’t you make an intelligent argument without the profanity? Read what the bill says. Make your talking points, but cut the profanity, name calling and threats. Craw back under the beds in your mama’s basement.

Joe Prentissaid

If this is a recent picture, this woman (girl) doesn’t appear to be over 17 and it probably hasn’t been long since her mother was picking up her room. What in the name of everything holy does she know about working, especially, working in a factory or construction. God protect us from such immature, brainless creatures.

zaidisaid

Is having the option to be given 1.5 hours of paid time off for every extra hour worked actually such a bad thing? I for one would have loved that when I was working hourly jobs.

I had a cop friend, on LAPD, in the ’90s. He got overtime that way and he was able to take a lot of paid time off with his family because of it. They took amazingly long vacations.

Also, notice that this bill only authorizes private employers to do this? That is because government agencies are already allowed to do this. Why is everyone here against private employers doing this when they support government agencies doing the same thing?

SO why are people railing against this?

Here is the reason: Unions do not get a cut of that extra paid vacation time, but they do get a cut of the paid overtime. This bill would have cut many millions of dollars a year from union coffers.

RandCsaid

Did any of you pissy illiterates read the part that says “In lieu of overtime pay, employees could receive compensatory time off at a rate not less than one and one-half hours for each hour of employment for which overtime pay would otherwise have been required. Such compensatory time could be provided only in accordance with a collective bargaining agreement or with the consent of affected employees. The changes would be effective for five years after enactment of the bill.” This means you get an hour and a half of time off for each hour of overtime worked. The pay at the end of the year is the same, you just get vacation hours. But no, all you see is “eliminate overtime pay” and it’s a grab-the-pitchforks-and-light-the-torches time.

Jamessaid

I see people are butt hurt over this. Looks like you idiots need to learn how to read. No wonder liberals are so stupid
““H.R. 1406 would amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to provide compensatory time for employees in the private sector. In lieu of overtime pay, employees could receive compensatory time off at a rate not less than one and one-half hours for each hour of employment for which overtime pay would otherwise have been required. Such compensatory time could be provided only in accordance with a collective bargaining agreement or with the consent of affected employees. :

Rufussaid

Dennis Sheedysaid

Isn’t about time WE THE PEOPLE step up and put a stop to letting these bought and paid for politicians continue to take away from us? Why aren’t we demanding these clowns take a pay cut, any raise they get should be voted on by us. It’s bullshit they can vote themselves raises, benefit packages and most aren’t even working more than about 70 days a year. Makes me sick these clowns continue to steam roll us and they enjoy the benefits of being nothing more smiling leaches on our dime.

Randy Rinestinesaid

Martha Roby should introduce a bill to limit her own pay. Reduce that pay of politicians to minimum wage. See how many mansions they would own or vacations they could take then. She can shove her wage reduction bills up her dainty little AS*!!! I bet she’s a popular one in Alabama!

stevensaid

Well if y’all stop over time . y’all should cut all of your checks to half . y’all are the only ones that are not struggling .everybody else lives on a fixed income or from paycheck to paycheck and it is not easy .

Marysaid

They can start by cutting all of their salaries and we most vote in term limits. The GOP party only care about the 1%! When they leave office no benefits follow them. Then let’s see how fast these folks vote for single payer system! This party is causing so much hate in our Country and yet they all want to keep the status quo! I for one am sick of it. For the rest of my life I will never vote for a republican. What is wrong with people when they vote this kind of a person to represent them!!!!!!

Donnie pughsaid

Martha Robi visited the Alabama prisons and left in tears saying she didnt know they were treated this bad. Now she is trying to fill them even more. Wake up she needs out of office and not paid a dime because she is heel bent on destroying everything. Alabama is already a state where you graduate high school to go to prison. If you are lucky enough to find a good job that you can get by on here then you work all you can. People like her has never worked a day in her life. Make her get out and work a real job and then see if she wants to destoy what little rights a working American has. It is time for the American citizens to take back America from the crimanals that is suppose to be running the country, but instead is destroying it more and more every day making it into a slave nation where the citizen has no rights. America is no longer the home of the free but is home to the imprisoned and enslaved. But that isn’t really suprising when America was a british prison place to begin with. The early fathers of the nation fought off the british to start the country now its time for the citizens to take this country back

Clarksaid

While I am a Conservative Republican, I disagree with this bill. I am also sick and tired of people trying to label the Tea party as a bunch of radicals. What I’d so wrong with government living with in its means?

Richard Hatfieldsaid

What kind of IDIOT are you ! The purpose of overtime is to compesate employees for working over 40 hrs. A 40 hr work week should be a standard work week for every one!
If a employee has to work more than that their employer shoulder hire more employees.sp they don’t need to work overtime !!!

This woman should be ashamed of herself! Another mindless politician trying to make a name for herself! How about we cap her income and not allow any political contributions to her camp! Oh now that would be wrong right? Idiot! Im sure the citizens will remember her name come voting time. This is another sad assault on the American worker!

Quintinsaid

Read the Bill! It gives the employee the option to take either time and a half or Paid vacation time in Lieu! It is awesome. One can CHOOSE and the employer cannot coerce either way. This is FOR THE INDIVIDUAL!

Tammy kysersaid

Some of the people we put in office need to go to WAR!!!
From: Danny Brooks
5934 U.S HWY 80 west
Tuskegee Alabama, 36083
To: Congress woman, Martha D, Roby
To: Congressman, Mike Roger
Dear, Mr. President:
Now you have Ms. Roby keep getting in the newspaper about director of Central Alabama Veteran Health Care System was fired last year due to not acting quickly enough on two employee misconduct. Is Danny Brooks I am a formal central Alabama veteran healthcare system employee who was wrongfully remove last year due to conspiracy by supervisor and VA police. Mr. Brooks Hal faxed it documentation in support of his claim are wrongful removal. Mr. Brooks is asking that Ms. Roby and the President have a meeting with him to discuss fabricated charges by VA police against him. Ms. Roby acted like a dog in heat and ran with the first thing she got instead of getting the facts right. Ms. Roby I’m tired of you running off at the mouth about something you don’t know about. My name is Mr. Danny Brooks and I haven’t did nothing wrong. The VA police is the one lying on me. I’m sick of his and your crap why want no one talk to me? The police is right? So what you of saying is all police is right? What about the ones that’s killing the blacks in the streets? People at these VA’s is running them like it their place of business. I’m about to be homeless and these people at the VA want give me a (CWT) do to my disability, what about the disability Act 2010, 2012.Why I can’t work at the VA? Ms. Roby I have send all evidence to your office and would like to talk with you. Veterans and blacks Ms. Roby is not your friend nor is Mike Roger, I have been talking with Mr. Roger office for 7 years and he haven’t did a dawn thing for me. President you haven’t did a thing neither! But you all get in the (NEWS PAPER) and talk like you doing so much for the veterans. LIE!!!!! Is it right for the VA to keep treating me like a dog? Can someone come and talk with me? You talk with the lying VA police. Black people get no respect or help from no one of you but you quick to talk about them. Ms. Roby you haven’t said a word about no body (WHITE) but to help them. Is it because I’m black? Can you talk to me?
I can’t work (CWT) but they want me to work at the NATIONAL GUARD on round, I can’t work in (EMS) housekeeping because I filed a complaint against Ms. Griffin. Is this right?

AJsaid

GOP or not, there is a real problem such legislation attempts to address. This is the other side of the FLSA coin: As a salaried employee, if I need to go to a doctors appointment, or attend to a brief personal matter, my pay is not docked. My hourly co-workers do not have the same option. They either lose pay or substitue rare and precious paid time-off.

In the private sector, if an hourly employee is unable to make-up missed hours during the same work week, he or she isn’t paid unless (typically very limited) paid leave is substituted. The government, unlike the private sector, may offer compensatory time off (comp time), offering hourly workers a little more flexibility. Additionally, hourly employees often lose “soft” opportunities for networking and education. Business invitations to a dinner, conferences etc. must be filtered through the FLSA. Analysis and compliance are not simple and pose inherent risk of unintentional violation and penalties for same. I’ve personally witnessed situations in which the hardship of compliance, rather than unwillingness to pay overtime, deters an employer from affording hourly workers with beneficial opportunities.

Employees should certainly be compensated for their time, but this proposal, while very likely impractical and un-workable, does seek to remedy a very real and problematic side-effect of the FLSA, one that our government has remedied for itself. Still, like most legislation, the FLSA is a matter of the good outweighing the bad. The current rigidity is a problem, but the harm is undeniable lesser than that of revoking overtime requirements.

Davidsaid

I am a Republican, but I must say it’s time to vote this woman out of office. She must have never worked a real job ever. She sounds to me to be a worthless piece of crap. We the People are getting tired of all the politician in this country. America sadly is going the way of Rome, and its because of idiots like this whom don’t care about the people that are working and barely getting by.

Guysaid

Compensation is modern day BS it is null and void in the corporation I work for. Not only are we denied use of our comp time we are also not compensated at the end of the year for what is not used. They claim needs of the business and we are constantly denied time off which in turn means more time accrued for time off. At the end of the year 6-10 weeks off is not compensated but lost and not carried over into the following year. We are moving in the wrong direction vote all these morons out of office before it is to late.

Milton Vicksaid

Lady, are you smoking crack or sniffing glue or something? You should be a democrat with ideas like that. This has got to be one of the most ridiculous things I’ve heard since “Obamacare”! Resign from office please! Take that idiot president with you when you go too! Thank you!

Some of the people we put in office need to go to WAR!!!
From: Danny Brooks
5934 U.S HWY 80 west
Tuskegee Alabama, 36083
To: Congress woman, Martha D, Roby
To: Congressman, Mike Roger
Dear, Mr. President:
Now you have Ms. Roby keep getting in the newspaper about director of Central Alabama Veteran Health Care System was fired last year due to not acting quickly enough on two employee misconduct. Is Danny Brooks I am a formal central Alabama veteran healthcare system employee who was wrongfully remove last year due to conspiracy by supervisor and VA police. Mr. Brooks Hal faxed it documentation in support of his claim are wrongful removal. Mr. Brooks is asking that Ms. Roby and the President have a meeting with him to discuss fabricated charges by VA police against him. Ms. Roby acted like a dog in heat and ran with the first thing she got instead of getting the facts right. Ms. Roby I’m tired of you running off at the mouth about something you don’t know about. My name is Mr. Danny Brooks and I haven’t did nothing wrong. The VA police is the one lying on me. I’m sick of his and your crap why want no one talk to me? The police is right? So what you of saying is all police is right? What about the ones that’s killing the blacks in the streets? People at these VA’s is running them like it their place of business. I’m about to be homeless and these people at the VA want give me a (CWT) do to my disability, what about the disability Act 2010, 2012.Why I can’t work at the VA? Ms. Roby I have send all evidence to your office and would like to talk with you. Veterans and blacks Ms. Roby is not your friend nor is Mike Roger, I have been talking with Mr. Roger office for 7 years and he haven’t did a dawn thing for me. President you haven’t did a thing neither! But you all get in the (NEWS PAPER) and talk like you doing so much for the veterans. LIE!!!!! Is it right for the VA to keep treating me like a dog? Can someone come and talk with me? You talk with the lying VA police. Black people get no respect or help from no one of you but you quick to talk about them. Ms. Roby you haven’t said a word about no body (WHITE) but to help them. Is it because I’m black? Can you talk to me?
I can’t work (CWT) but they want me to work at the NATIONAL GUARD on round, I can’t work in (EMS) housekeeping because I filed a complaint against Ms. Griffin. Is this right?

Remember the wisdom of Paul Ryan; Preaching Social Darwinism a la Ayn Rand and when questioned how he folded? Keep in mind the strides his running mate’s former boss made in Alabama in 2000 with PCH Hotels and Resorts as a Marriott franchise…Alabama is conservative for many reasons. Post modernism is as does.

Donsaid

Wow, can liberals read? The bill doesn’t say that! It gives flexibility to the worker and employer to enter a mutually beneficial agreement. The employee is under no obligation to accept it. The employer can’t unilaterally impose this program without either contractual agreement or the employee’s consent.

0ldmansaid

We the people of Alabama would like to choose how to be reimbursed of our overtime pay, either by comp time, which is what the state employees get, or overtime, which is all we are allowed at this point.

This doesn’t eliminate time and a half, this gives us the option to choose time and a half vs comp time (1.5 hours off for every hour worked).

Quintinsaid

PLEASE READ THE BILL! This is absolutely for the employee. The person who wrote this article is misleading and irresponsible. It gives the employee the option to choose either 1.5x pay or 1.5x hours in paid vacation time up to 160 hours! That is up to a month in vacation time. When 160 is reached the employee goes back to overtime pay. This bill is AWESOME! READ THE BILL!

Jason clarkesaid

Brentsaid

I would like an option to have either. Overtime where I work is abused by the company in an effort to gain more money from the government we have a contract with. Many times employees cannot even go on vacation due to being scheduled for ot. I work under a union also and they are the same as the company nowadays. I believe in making the place you work better, not rolling over and taking a bunch of crap. Just because a company can do something legally does not mean that they should or that the action is right morally. I did vote for Roby twice as the alternatives were worse, but that is the problem with our leadership. The people who should run, won’t. We also have no method of removing a rep early.
Our situation is a croc no matter how we look at it. Our own fault though.

An employee may receive, in accordance with this subsection and in lieu of monetary overtime compensation, compensatory time off at a rate not less than one and one-half hours for each hour of employment for which overtime compensation is required by this section.

we need to get U.S rpresentative for Alabama’s 2nd and 3rd congressional district Martha Roby and Mike Roger out of congress. To all my fellow veteran’s and acted duty personal these two is (NO GOOD) for us. Roby is in the paper talking about Montgomery and Tuskegee V.A but don’t want to hear to truth about what’s going on at these two V.A’s.I have been tring to get help from Mike Roger office for over 7 year’s. If you of BLACK the only thing you will get is MISSTREATED and no one CARE. You have V.A staff as well as V.A POLICE lying on Veteran employee to get them removed from employment. If you of a non- white race you need not VOTE for these two they is no good for you. Not to say the President is no good as well, i have been tring to get help from him for 7 year’s also. As a veteran i have sent evidence to all of them without any out come. I have showen them the V.A police lied in his report, but nothing have been done to him. I’m about to be HOMELESS and no one will help me. The President gave 450 veteran positions and let the V.A’s take them away from them and give them to their family/ friends and the ones they of sexually involved with. If you of non- White race you want receive help from non of them, even the President!!!! No one will talk with me face to face about my problem, they don’t care! Let’s get these people out of office. The President you think is BLACK isn’t he is a supporter of this (RED NECK SYSTEM) more BLACK is being KILL than it was when BUSH was President. YOU TALKS ABOUT THE TRUTH, BUT YOU DON”T WANT THE TRUTH!!!! GET THEM OUT OF OFFICE!!!
WHAT THE DEFERENCE BETWEEN A ( NIGGER AND A BLACK MAN)?

Warm Southern Breezesaid

Chris, thanks for reading, and for sharing your thoughts! Here’s some guidance from the United States Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, on the matter of paying the rate of time-and-a-half for every hour worked over 40 in a 7-day work week. The page states in part that, “Unless exempt, employees covered by the Act must receive overtime pay for hours worked over 40 in a workweek at a rate not less than time and one-half their regular rates of pay.”http://www.dol.gov/whd/overtime_pay.htm

Ken210said

This is as bad as Coke a cola here in Alabama which works off of what they call Chinese overtime which is at 40 hours your pay is cut in half and is cut in half for every 10 hours you go over your 40 hours in which a regular work week consist of 5 12 to 14 hours shifts so when you hit that 60 hour mark your barely making 4 dollars and hour

Did the author even read the bill? I did, and it actually is a good idea. As an employee you have a choice for the first 5 years of the bill being law between receiving either overtime pay, or paid time off. If an employee takes the latter, after accumulating 160 vacation hours they are to be paid their overtime wages. Also, whatever time the employee doesn’t use they are to receive a check for at the overtime pay scale. The bill would also PROHIBIT employers from trying to stop, or punish employees from using their paid time off.

Steven Ksaid

The Representative working against the benefit of the Public is not doing their gifted role by the public. Replace them,
swiftly.
Congress should stealing the labors of the American public. Instead, Congress should stop taxing over time hours completely. They do not own our time.

Darrellsaid

You must not have read the actual language of the bill. It is an ‘opt’ in program that leaves it up to the employee if they would rather have the time off or the money with penalties against the employee for harassing employees to take comp time. nice propaganda piece thought.

I think we need to eliminate automatic pay raises for all politicians, do away with their sick leave, I don’t have any at my job why should they, Limit their vacation time to two weeks off like most americans after 3 years on the job. Use the same crappy medical insurance that is forced on us, the high deductible before anything is paid by the insurance company and then only 80 % after that. Wake up America and lets stand against these freeloaders that are living off of us while we get further in debt and have to keep tightening our belts. I am sick and tired of politicians and tax codes that keeps working people poor.

David Fennersaid

Did you people even read the bill?
“Such compensatory time could be provided only in accordance with a collective bargaining agreement or with the consent of affected employees.”
Its a choise the employee would have!
Typical liberals, making up lies to make someone look bad!

Mike Davissaid

This woman must be out of her mind. Who in the hell is going to support her and who exactly voted for her so I can punch them in the face. She’d be perfect management material for a sweatshop in Bangladesh. I can see her political career going nowhere.

Bill Krumptersaid

I would support a bill like this ONLY if it lets the employee choose either paid overtime or comp time.
REASON: Some times an employee needs the money from overtime hours; but at other times, they need the rest that comp time provides.
The Bill needs to ensure empliyee choice and NOT take that choice away from the employee.

Dansaid

It seems to me that whoever wrote this article seems like they just wanted to get angry. It sounds like a great idea to me. It states in the proposal that employees COULD receive compensatory time off if the affected employees agree to it or by collective bargaining.
I could be wrong, but to me it sounds like they are still wanting to keep the overtime pay unless the workers of each company decide to take the CTO instead. It’s called the “Working Families Flexibility Act,” so it just sounds like they’re wanting to give working families a choice in their compensation for being away from home for extended periods of time.

Jim Wallsaid

In the bill, it states, “Such compensatory time could be provided only in accordance with a collective bargaining agreement or with the consent of affected employees. The changes would be effective for five years after enactment of the bill.” You people are making a mountain out of a mole hill. It is up to the employee, not the employer……..

Tomsaid

Ronaldsaid

The bill gives you a choice, it didn’t end overtime. Before I retired we had this choice and it was great! You could take pay or time off. You deer hunters should be in favor of this for sure. Time off won’t pay the power bill so you just take the money. I used some of my time to do side work and worked out well for me. It was more of a problem for the company because too much off time was being accumulate and had to be limited.

JMAC92123said

As usual…..people making judgements and comments without understanding Labor laws…….

1 – Overtime pay is a local issue (state) not Federal…..so even if the Feds pass this, your LOCAL state makes the rules
2 – From the article – ” in accordance with a collective bargaining agreement or with the consent of affected employees.” – Where does it say you will lose OT pay? You have the choice (Consent) to accept this or not.
3 – You are still compensated through time off in Lieu of the pay. This means….you work 50…paid for 40 and get another 15 hours of time off. This could impact salaried people….as they typically do not get OT pay…maybe now they will be compensated.

At the end of the day…..do not make a goat out of a law maker because you do not agree with them or understand the entire issue. Reach out to YOUR local law makes and understand how they plan to vote. Let the politicians that you have a say in know what the people in their district want…..not what some internet troll is telling you to buy into…..

Stop reading right/left wing publications, watching CNN and FOX….and start forming your own decisions. Get educated on the issues and get involved in your local politics…..Do Not be a troll like the author of this article….

Remember Presidents DO NOT make the law…they are the Executive branch….speak to you local Congress person and state representatives, they make the laws………

I hope you read this and get educated on the issues and make your voice heard to an audience that can do something about it….not the Internet trolls…

JMAC92123, you are so full of it. I’m sure you do your boss proud. Nowhere does it say that the employee has the right to choose how he will be compensated. As a former Alabama state employee, I assure you that if I worked over I was required to take comp time and didn’t get OT. Continue your GOP maligning of the middle-class. We’re on to you, and your party is nearing its end, as more people are made aware that you are for corporate America, greed and profit. Running a business kind of clashes with taking care of the middle class, veterans, the elderly?

J.blesssaid

J Campbellsaid

As soon as those in congress are not allowed to add amendment to a bill to increase there pay plus they are over payed tell her to take a cut in pay until a budget is passed. Then she could pass through congress a fair livable wage most of the over time is because the employer won’t hire enough help. Needs to do her homework never work in her life time you need to visit a factory like a steel mill or other mills and ask questions.

Chris Ferrelsaid

I think we need a law that states Congressmen and women get paid mimimum wage, no overtime and are only compensated for hours of work performed in the Congressional building. This law should include term limit, make accepting ANY compensation from lobbyists illegal (including campain contributions) and disallowing any interaction with lobbyists for a minimum of 10 years after the end of their last term in office.

J Grahamsaid

If comp time is the employee’s choice, I’m all for it. But there have to be safeguards to insure that the employee can get paid if the employee wants. Without retribution. Which seems to be missing from this bill.

Annabelle Gonzalezsaid

Please it’s hard enough that most people do not make enough money to survive and provide for their family, they count on overtime to fill the void. This is a stupid proposal. She must make a lot of money.

This is not elimination of overtime, it is employee side negotiations to CONVERT overtime into paid days off, ONLY with employee permission and with agreement to employer.

Read here:

“Congresswoman Martha Roby introduced a bill Tuesday to provide private-sector workers more flexibility in determining how they receive compensation for overtime.

“I often meet working moms and dads who say they need more time to spend with family or to take care of responsibilities outside of work,” Roby said in a statement released by her office. “But right now the law prohibits private businesses from offering comp time options for their employees, even though it is legal in the public sector. Washington shouldn’t stand in the way of an employer and an employee coming to a ‘comp time’ agreement that each is happy with.”

House Resolution 1406, also known as the “Working Families Flexibility Act of 2013,” would allow private-sector employees — under a voluntary agreement with their employers — to choose to convert overtime hours to an equivalent amount of paid time off.”

Thomas Shermansaid

Joshuasaid

Another stupid individual in politics trying to take back from the hard working American. We need fight back hard if I don’t get paided time and half after 40 guess what I not working more then 40 the companies will suffer. She should stay in the kitchen where she belongs she has no f-ing clue what she trying to do. It time that all people in politics are no longer allowed to serve more then eight yrs.

allensaid

The problem everyone is not seeing is that the employer says they will give you comp time, but the problem is that they have to allow you to be off and they will not grant time off when needed. They only let you off when it is their benefit, and if you want to string it together for a week off you can forget it, they only want to give you a day at a time here or there. I had the option to do that when I was working, but you could only take the time off during the 2 week pay period it was earned, and could not bank it. Thus for when not taken in the 2 week pay period they paid you for it at the time and a half rate, so just leave it alone. If you make it at employee option and let them bank say 40/80 hours and allow them to take when they want then both parties win. But guess what …..THAT IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN……!

Paulsaid

Forget vacation time, I can’t afford a vacation if I wanted too, I’ll take the money, you can’t even compare the two like it’s equal compensation, some one would have to be really STUPID to suggest getting some vacation time would even remotely be an adequate substitution for the OT pay. If you live in a so called right to work state where there is no collective bargaining, you can kiss the”option” to choose one or the other goodbye.

Glennsaid

usually comp time can be good but, it is a bad idea for those in the private sector of business comp time is a use or lose issue on the anniversary date of the day that it was earned meaning that you must use it before that day arrives, and it is up to the company or management whether or not you will be able to use it on the dates requested, and there are blackout dates where you cannot use them. they do not automatically roll over to the next year , and in most states there are no collective bargaining units to protect the workers rights, especially in small business areas I believe that this kind of a bill would lead to many business owners either closing , or hiring undocumented workers who would be happy to work for low wages and long hours ,and this would only makes the immigration problem worse .

a note

I don’t need any comments on my bad spelling, or failure to use punctuation .

Michael Speakmansaid

As a firefighter. This has been the norm for us. ( at least for the last 20 years). We’ve had the option to take cash for o.t. or be compensated with time off. It’s really not a bad deal. It gives you extra time you can take ” at will” on top of accrued vacation, and personal days. Time off with pay has many times been much more valuable to me than the extra money on a check. Just my $0.02

Michael Davissaid

Tony de Tigresaid

How is this costing the employee anything? They will be compensated with time off at the rate of 1 1/2 hours per hour worked. How many times in the past have unions and labor advocates asked for this scenario ?? I would think many workers would trade working one hour overtime for an hour and a half of personal time! Looks like a fair trade to me. I’d take it!

haymakersaid

Bob The Buildersaid

If I understand it correctly, this bill gives private sector employers the option to offer time-off in lieu of overtime pay, with the agreement of both parties. If one of the parties (employer or employee) does not agree, then overtime gets paid as per usual. I did not study the bill in detail, but as far as I can see, it does not give the employer the right to FORCE time-off in lieu of OT pay, but them the legal option to offer it.

Alchemysaid

i think bob the builder may be right, that said, it still would not be revenue neutral, as the decrease in actual pay would also mean decreases in gov’t revenue through taxation as there are no source deductions on “time off”

Some people in Congress Need a Reality Check! or have them actually live in the district the represent! The Balls of some PEOPLE! Get these A-Holes out of Office! Put the idiots that voted for this, in a poor district without pay and go by the bill they institutionalized! See HOW THEY LIKE IT! BASTARDS!

The Bill is proposing accruing time off/vacation time in lieu of overtime pay, but does not stipulate paid time off. Its says have your labor union negotiate that, only there are no effective labor unions in Alabama (Right To Work for Less state). You can have a million hours in your vacation bank, but if your employer won’t grant you time off, what’s the point? These corpserations are already running skeleton crews when possible!

Speaker Thomassaid

They created their corporate Being not of flesh. They dictate how their GOD is to be worshipped… bow down and pay tribute to the servants of unrighteous mammon now, even for upkeep on the earthly temple of your Jealous GOD, or Obama says it is prison for you …

Brendasaid

Jamessaid

Your not reading this. I was passed off too at first. She does not want to do away with overtime pay. She wants to give you an option. Instead of just overtime pay. You could trade each hour of overtime worked. For no less than 1, and 1\2 hours of paid vacation time. Your choice.

RD..said

Ms.Roby can afford to give up overtime with all the Congressional benefits she receives. .I would be in favor of switching her benefit package with mine..but that’s not going to happen, you know what would freeze over before that would be instituted. .She’s wanting some type of political notoriety for this, I wonder what that might be $$$$$$$$$$? That’s the problem we have NOW with the political establishment ..GO TRUMP..

Henrysaid

Tammysaid

Lashawn Jonessaid

This would come from people who never had to work a hard day or any overtime. She is just a pawn that they are making to look like a fool. She so badly wants to make a mark in American History she is not using common sense nor is she listening to her district she represents. Most of the people in her district relied on overtime when working and now she will destroy those families. Then this bill will also destroy private sector businesses because they will have to cap comp time given to employees because they would not be able to operate do to employees being off work. Also, businesses will need to work overtime to meet production goals and targets, but how will this be achieved with this new overtime law? The ones in Congress needs to really step back and use common sense. Protect the people not Congress kickbacks!!!!

CJsaid

I work for a non profit in De at a in pt hospice center. Full time 40 hr employees are mandated to be “salaried “. Reg day is typically at least 9.5 hrs with pay being 7.5 hrs. We arr mandated overtime for 10% over our base rate (only if approved to be payed). It is almost never approved. We are nurses and are told ” I can’t pay overtime for charting. Staffing is always short for certain shifts (daily). Hear me now, this bill will take us back 100 years! Kent county De is already there.

John Alexiousaid

This is such an ignorant rant – the choice is for the employee to receive 1.5 hours of compensatory TIME OFF or 1.5 hours of compensatory PAY for any hours worked over 40 per week. So let’s see, I can choose pay or take time off and receive pay. What’s so horrible if the employee has choices? Clearly this author needs to get a job to understand how the system has been working for millions of people over the years . . .

Mr gilessaid

This article and I use the term lightly. Is a easy way to scare people who are not willing to pay attention and read the law. Think if it’s a Republican idea it has to be bad even though it really isn’t. I would like the option to pick ot or more pto, and like others have asked how does the employer gain the uper hand in this deal? I’ll wait….

rblanpiedsaid

Josaid

This is the stupidest thing I have ever heard and it makes me sick that those pushing for this actually think this is ok. They should all be ashamed of themselves for even thinking this shit up. Vote all theses stupid idiots out of office they are all bat shit crazy and insects are eating their brains!!!

Rodney Wilsonsaid

Theresa Farrellsaid

This is some of the craziest,insane shot I’ve ever heard,lock her in al metal room for a few hrs.and let her read that for the time she’s in there,maybe that will jog her brain cells,if she has any.Where do these people get this thinking pattern from?????

Stevesaid

Raspinator82said

I am a Republican. I am very sad at this proposal. I feel that most Republicans are not in touch with the working people like my self. They need to reevaluate there thinking process. That is why the Republican party is im such turmoil and looking to get their Burts beat in November.

Thomas Gibsonsaid

You people are idiots! HR 1406 helps the worker. Do your homework. I swear….talk about an AGENDA

The Working Families Flexibility Act of 2013 would allow private-sector workers to receive paid time off, or comp time, for overtime hours worked. A working mom or dad could use an hour of overtime he or she earned as paid “time and a half” off work instead of “time and a half” cash, if that’s what they would rather have.

Christopher Husbandssaid

Travissaid

I Googled this bill, it’s from 2013 and it allows an employer and an employee the option of taking 1 1/2 hours of paid time off for up to 160 hrs a year of hours worked over 40 and requires the employer to pay them if the employee hasn’t been able to use up the PTO by the end of the year.

Paullysaid

You dont need this bill… Since it depends on collective bargaining. Which most states employers already regularly agree to comp time off as a part of collective bargaining in lieu of O.T. pay. This is far from a new idea.. She must not do any research before creating a useless bill.

Johnsaid

Please read the actual bill !! Omg ! It is a bill requireing the employers to allow the employee to decide if they want time off at 1 1/2 times or get payed for it. This bill would actually help single parents to take time off to take care of family issues like doctor visits for the kids , school functions or whatever they would like to do with their earned time! Do some research yourself don’t rely on the media to tell you what is in this bill! This in no way says people won’t get paid for overtime worked !

Bob Edward Faheysaid

I’m writing about that in my new book. The right wing PolitiChurch of the near future walls its citizenry off from outside internet connection and honest news coverage. The outlaw overtime pay, sick leave, pensions, child labor laws, and minimum wage. Instead, they set a maximum wage, driving citizens into ignorance, hopelessness, hunger, and enslavement.

dalesaid

This is how this great experiment is supposed to work. When one state passes stupid laws, the people either vote out the guilty ones, or move to a state that makes smart laws. When the stupid state loses population, it loses representatives in the fed govt, tax revenue from the businesses that have to relocate to smart states. The smart states gain everything the stupid one loses. Then, hopefully, the stupid one gets smarter and changes the stupid laws to smart ones.
Why is the govt involved with the “free market” anyway?

Lincoln Eddingssaid

Balls on ,you think that it is a good thing but in reality in a right to work state they can do what they want and you can’t do anything to stop them, so I think you need to read a little more about right to work.

Brookesaid

She isn’t trying to emliminate OT pay. She is trying to create the option of OT pay or OT comp time- meaning you could have paid time off. This is to help families be able to spend more time together. Way to spread a lie though.

UglySlipperssaid

So let’s see…….this bill offers the worker the CHOICE of overtime pay or extra time off at the same rate as overtime pay. Why is this a problem? The only thing I can see is that it offers the worker the choice therefore empowering him or her. Something that I see most liberals to be against. For whatever reason they seem to think that the government knows best and is best at telling them what they need. I prefer to make my own decisions. Make my own choices. There are times when I would choose extra hours off in lieu of extra money. I absolutely do not understand your opposition to this bill. An employee can still get overtime pay.

Stevesaid

To all of you sheep that think it’s the democrats fault AND you sheep that think it’s the republicans fault. Obviously you’ve no ability to read between the lines. It’s the lifelong politions, who have become experts at “playing the game”, be it republican or democrat. Our federal government is overrunning with millionaires. Yet “we” don’t pay them millionaire salaries. You don’t suppose they’re making their millions off of lobbyists and special interest groups in lieu of favors or voting one way or another do you? Of course they are!! Why is that so hard to see? Use your brains. Think for yourself. I for one am sick and tired of smoke being blown up my ass for decades! Dems and Republicans alike. All our government has turned out to be is an “insiders” club. Once in office and the millions start rolling in in exchange for votes, it’s so long suckers! You peasants take care of yourself as best you can, and I’ll rake in my millions. I just can’t figure out why the American people can’t see this?? It’s really not about the party’s. It’s about the moral fiber of the elected official. All of which are lawyers. Which just about says it all. Not that I’m a Trump fan, but I’d vote for a bum from the streets before I’d vote for a lifelong polition. Nothing will ever change for the better until we start putting Christians back in our government. There lies the real problem. I get sick of hearing democrats call republicans idiots and vise versa. We’re all idiots for letting our government do as they damn well please! They have to be stopped or America the great will soon be America once was! History repeats itself. All great nations rise. And all those great nations will fall. And what have all the fallen nations have in common? A greedy government! And we’re letting it happen right before our eyes!

Rachaelsaid

I’m sorry she wants to do what? Absolutely not. I’m a divorced mom of two boys. I work myself to the bone as it is to make sure their needs are met. My overtime pay goes a long way towards that. It also goes towards their extracurricular activities such as football and soccer. This woman is a disgusting disgrace and certainly not a credit to her gender.

Donsaid

You must first get a vacation day for the vacation part to work! Not all places offer vacation. 2nd off it should be my choice if I want to choose between vacation pay or time and half for my family I might be working the overtime too pay a bill or to make sure my child has diapers or food or what ever else they might need then if and when the vacation comes along then I make my mind up to work overtime for my planed vacation and put the money back I thought that was how that worked but hey who am I! I don’t need a government to tell me or help me save money or set up my vacation for me won’t be long they’ll say oh you can’t go there for vacation you can’t afford it what ever

Overtime is over-time. Period. We are SCHEDULED to work X number of hours. To force one to stay over DESERVES the extra pay, PERIOD! I only work for you to FUND the time I dont work. I do not work for you for self esteem or goodwill. I dont do it for anything other than the compensation I receive. For working more than the allotted Daily schedule, as defined by current labor laws, demands EXTRA compensation.

Eberhardsaid

It is NOT revenue neutral for the government!
Eliminating overtime pay reduces income of workers, thus less income tax paid to the government). More workers, who relied on overtime pay to pay their bills, going on food stamp subsidies.
This is designed to help corporations flexibility to get the most production out of part-time staff, possibly leading to a cut in benefits as well.

Eberhardsaid

It is NOT revenue neutral for tge government.
Eliminating overtime pay reduces income resulting in a reduction of income tax remitted to the government. Employees who relied on overtime pay to pay their bills, may be forced to go on food stamp subsidies. This is designed to help corporations flexibility of getting most production out of part time staff, and may also lead to allow them to cut benefits paid to their staff.

Doug mccantssaid

Anthony Daughertysaid

Great! With the Republicans trying to steal all our protections as workers and Democrats taxing us to death and making us pay for all the freebies for no- workers the middle class working person is no more than a modern day slave!!!!